Sacramento Digs Gardening: Dig In: Garden checklist for week of April 28

Are your tomato seedlings producing flowers before they're even planted? Pinch off these early flowers so the plant will

put its energy into growing strong new roots.

Sunday will be perfect for planting tomatoes and more

Suddenly, it feels likes summer – or at least early June.

Spiking into the high 80s and low 90s, Sacramento temperatures have been running 10 to 12 degrees above normal for late April. Reacting to this spring heat wave, everything seems to be growing (or fading) faster.

Such cool-season crops as lettuce, broccoli, cabbage and kale, which all were enjoying cooler days in March and early April, are quickly bolting to seed. Meanwhile, tomato vines love these higher temperatures, adding inches every day.

According to the National Weather Service, the days ahead will be sunny but not quite so warm, staying just below 80 – which is where we want to be right now.

Take advantage of this “normal” weather and plant summer favorites. It’s perfect timing -- April 28 is Sacramento’s unofficial Tomato Planting Day!

* 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.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions

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

* Run the sprinklers early in the day -- before 8 a.m. if possible -- to minimize plant diseases.

* 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.

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

CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

Your weekly checklist of activities in the garden.

Keywords:

seeds tomatoes Sacramento pests garden chores weather gardening spring planing sprinklers heat spring gardens mulch summer flowers

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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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