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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of March 10

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAR 9, 2019

Trellis and tie up pea plants; they can grow rapidly now - and get heavy. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

After so much rain, spring is on its way

Spring may not officially start until March 20, but we spring forward this weekend. Sunday (March 10) is the start of Daylight Saving Time. Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour.

What does this mean for gardeners? More daylight in the late afternoon and early evening to get things done.

After a wet start to March, warmer (and drier) weather is expected soon. Postpone planting tomatoes until temperatures warm later this month. Meanwhile, consider these tasks:

* As weather permits, prepare beds for planting. Cut down cover crops (such as clover). Add compost and soil amendments. Cover with mulch until you’re ready to plant.

* If aphids are attracted to new growth, knock them off with a strong spray of water or insecticidal soap. To make your own “bug soap,” use two tablespoons liquid soap -- not detergent -- to one quart water in a spray bottle. Shake it up before use. Among the liquid soaps that seem most effective are Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Soaps ; try the peppermint scent.

* Watch out for early signs of powdery mildew on roses and other ornamentals plants. It explodes when temperatures edge into the 70s. Apply neem or jojoba oil.

* Seed and renovate the lawn (if you still have one). Feed cool-season grasses such as bent, blue, rye and fescue with a slow-release fertilizer. Check the irrigation system and perform maintenance. Make sure sprinkler heads are turned toward the lawn, not the sidewalk.

Enjoy your spring flowering bulbs.
Pick some daffodils to enjoy indoors.

* In the vegetable garden, transplant seedlings of lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, collards and kale.

* Harvest those same cool-season crops as they mature. Broccoli tends to bolt quickly in warm weather.

* Harvest peas as they mature. Tie up and trellis vines; they grow rapidly and need more support.

* Seed chard, beets, radishes, carrots and onions directly into the ground.

* A cool start to March means it’s not too late to plant such spring annuals as pansies, violas, primroses and calendulas.

* Plant summer bulbs and tubers, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias, callas and dahlias.

* Pick daffodils, tulips and other spring-flowering bulbs to enjoy indoors.

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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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