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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Jan. 31

More rain is on the way, then good garden days

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 30, 2021

Moisture meter and temperature probe in soil

Yes, that soil is wet -- and cold! We can expect

more rain Monday night. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Keep your rain gear handy. After 2 inches of rain this week, another storm is on its way.

According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento will see up to an inch of rain from this next weather system, expected to hit Monday night and extend through Tuesday.

The rest of the week may be partly cloudy, but mostly dry with high temperatures in the 50s and lows in the 40s – just about normal for the first week of January. Expect to see sunny skies and warmer weather Thursday.

In the meantime, don’t walk on soggy soil; it may compact. Wait until the soil dries out a little before digging.

But once excess moisture drains, the ground should be soft and easy to work. Expect good gardening weather by next weekend.

* During this rainy weather, turn off the sprinklers. Irrigation can stay off at least a week.

* Check soil moisture before watering.

* Finish pruning roses and dormant trees and shrubs.

* Weed, weed, weed! Pull them while they’re small.

* Feed spring-blooming shrubs and fall-planted perennials with slow-release fertilizer.

* Feed mature trees and shrubs after spring growth starts.

* Fertilize strawberries and asparagus.

* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers and bare-root rhubarb roots, asparagus and horseradish.

* Transplant cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts and lettuce (both loose leaf and head).

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

* Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.

* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.

* Plant bare-root roses, shrubs and fruit trees.

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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