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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Feb. 14

Hold off on summer veggies; more cool days to come

Reddish green chard in sixpacks
Chard is a good choice for transplanting or seeding in the late winter garden. The leaves can be picked at any stage for salads, stir fries and other dishes. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)



With warm afternoons and some refreshing rain, our gardens got a big taste of spring. But don’t plant for summer yet. Another cooldown is on its way.

According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can expect a week of cloudy weather with chances of showers on Monday and Thursday. Cloudy skies will keep daytime temperatures cool (mostly low 60s) and nights relatively warm with overnight lows staying in the 40s.

That combination will keep lettuce, cabbage, spinach and other cool-season veggies from bolting (sprouting flower shoots) a little while longer. Instead, there's an opportunity to plant more.

Meanwhile, postpone planting tomatoes and peppers until the weather and soil stay consistently warm.

What to do now?

* Feed spring-blooming shrubs and fall-planted perennials with slow-release fertilizer. Feed mature trees and shrubs after spring growth starts.

* Finish pruning roses, even if they’ve begun to sprout new growth.

* Plant a flower garden. Transplant or direct-seed snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.

* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers.

* Plant bare-root strawberry, asparagus and rhubarb.

* Plant globe artichokes from root division.

* Transplant one more round of fast-growing cool-season veggies such as loose-leaf lettuce.

* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips. Choose fast-growing varieties.

* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.

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Garden Checklist for week of May 19

Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

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