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Stay off the mud!


Friday morning hail turned flower beds white in Sacramento's Greenhaven/Pocket neighborhood. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Wet soil can lead to compaction and complications


Look before you step.
All this rain has over-saturated the soil in many places, particularly spots with clay soil or poor drainage. Unable to absorb any more moisture, our yards may have become waterlogged – and more rain is forecast.
This week, Sacramento already has received more than 3 inches of rainfall. Friday’s thunderstorms dumped more (plus unexpected hail in some neighborhoods).
That excess moisture can drown plant roots, especially if the soil becomes compacted.
Stay off waterlogged soil, advises UC Cooperative Extension master gardeners. Your footprints can do lasting damage.
Walking or rolling wheels on wet soil can cause compaction, depriving plant roots and microorganisms of the air and space they need. Healthy soil contains tiny air pockets that allow plant roots and microbes to “breathe.” Compaction squeezes out that necessary air. Plants die and so do the tiny organisms that make a healthy soil.
Imagine a ball of wet clay. What happens when you squeeze it? It becomes very hard and dense; you don’t want that to happen to your soil.
To avoid compacting soil, lay planks across the wet spots and use those to access your garden, if needed. Otherwise, give your garden time for the excess water to percolate down, run off or evaporate.
The hailstones will just add to the soggy conditions here
when they melt. Stepping stones are a good idea in
areas that stay wetter long. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)
For future access, consider placing stepping stones in areas that tend to stay wetter longer. Just don’t lay the stones until the soil dries out.
During this wet weather, notice where water is pooling in your garden and make a note on improving drainage. Don’t let water pool next to your home’s foundation, fences or other structures; it will lead to expensive repairs. Instead, redirect it away from the house.
Low spots may have potential as “rain gardens,” areas where storm water is allowed to pool temporarily and slowly sink down. That deeply irrigates nearby trees, shrubs and perennials. But remember:  Most plants don’t like standing in water, even for a day or two. Plant a rain garden with plants that can take the wet, but also are happy with dry conditions the rest of the time.
Don’t forget potted plants during storms. Their containers can fill up with rain, drowning the plants inside. Tip pots sideways so water can drain out.
Bonsai and succulents are at greatest risk from too much moisture. If possible, move these plants under eaves where they can get some protection during stormy water.

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Garden Checklist for week of May 11

Make the most of the lower temperatures early in the week. We’ll be back in the 80s by Thursday.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. 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. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers.

* 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.

* Add mulch to the garden to maintain moisture. 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.

* Remember to weed! Pull those nasties before they set seed.

* Water early in the day and keep seedlings evenly moist.

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