Sacramento Digs Gardening: Dig In: Garden checklist for week of July 12

Are you feeling as fried as these roses? We are, too. And these need to be deadheaded.
(Photos: Kathy Morrison)

Normal nights help gardens cope with heat

Hot days, comfortable nights; that's our weather pattern for mid-July.

According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento will continue to hit triple digits at least through Tuesday before settling back down into the low to mid 90s.

Fortunately, our overnight temperatures will keep dipping down to about 62 degrees -- normal for July. So, while days may reach 10 degrees above our mid-July average high of 92, those normal nights will refresh plants -- and us.

Those cooler nights also help keep soil and roots comfortable, too.

Until cooler days, concentrate on that comfort factor:

That's one droopy cosmos. Plants protect themselves in heat by
drooping, but keep them well-watered and they'll snap

back overnight.

* Keep plants hydrated but not soggy. Too much water can harm plants, too; check your moisture levels.
* Water early, preferably before 8 a.m., to cut down on moisture loss.
* Deep water trees, shrubs and perennials. Let the moisture soak in.
* Refresh your mulch. Cover bare spots. Don't let it pile up around trunks or main stems.
* Pick up fallen fruit; it attracts pests and problems.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.
* Harvest tomatoes, squash, peppers and eggplant. Prompt picking will help keep plants producing.
* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers.
* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.
* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.
* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers. Make sure seeds stay evenly moist.

CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

Your weekly checklist of activities in the garden.

Keywords:

gardening Sacramento summer garden heat heat wave summer rose care garden checklist summer annuals heat stress summer

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Local News

Thanks to our sponsor!

Sites We Like

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.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!