Sacramento Digs Gardening: Time to plant for cooler days ahead

Believe it or not, it's time to start thinking of cool-season vegetables. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Start cool-season favorites such as lettuce and kale

In the heat of mid-summer, it's time to think cool -- as in cool-season vegetables.

Get a jump on fall and winter by starting seeds indoors. Such favorites as lettuce, kale, chard, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower benefit from a head start before transplanting into the vegetable garden.

These seeds need warmth to sprout -- but not too much. Lettuce, for example, won't germinate if soil temperature is above 80 degrees. But a comfortable spot in the 70s on your kitchen counter will help them sprout right away.

These baby veggies can be moved quickly outside, but keep them sheltered from hot afternoon sun. Let them grow their first few leaves while sitting in the shade.

As they grow bigger and stronger, these transplants can move into the vegetable garden, replacing spent summer crops. If possible, give them some afternoon shade by planting them in the shadow of larger plants such as tomatoes or peppers. When those tomatoes are done, the cool-season replacements will be ready to take over their space.

Cool-season veggies also can act as living mulch. Sow leaf lettuce directly in the soil around peppers and eggplant. The lettuce will benefit from the shade of the taller plants while keeping the soil cool. It helps the peppers and eggplant while also helping the baby lettuce.

The key to success with these early cool-season veggies: Water. They need consistent moisture while germinating and during early development. Once established, these transplants can get by with deep watering once a week. Double that during triple-digit days in late August and September.

How soon until harvest? Leaf lettuce can be picked as soon as 30 days. Head lettuce needs longer, usually 55 to 60 days. Broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower can take 60 to 180 days to reach maturity, depending on variety -- another reason to get an early start.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

fall vegetables seeds gardening Sacramento vegetables cool-weather vegetables fall gardening seed starting lettuce vegetable gardening

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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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