Sacramento Digs Gardening: Take advantage of warm November

Add instant color with chrysanthemums, November's official flower. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Unusual weather allows for more transplanting success

What's normal for November? It sure isn't 85-degree days.

Our prolonged Indian summer continues to bring unusually warm (and dry) days, flirting with record highs for this month. (Sacramento's all-time November high is 87 degrees.)

What's normal? According to the National Weather Service, about 71 degrees for this week, then it quickly gets colder. Sacramento's average high for November is 64 degrees.

Instead, the 10-day forecast calls for a string of more afternoons in the 80s and high 70s with nights in the low 50s.

By Monday, overnight lows will be dipping down regularly into the 40s, which is normal. November's average low is 43 degrees.

Transplant kale and other cool-weather vegetables.

What does this mean for gardeners? The faster you get transplants in the ground, the better. Those chilly nights will start dropping soil temperature. Warm soil helps roots develop and get plants established -- the key to garden success.

Right now, many plants are enjoying this continued warmth. Summer bloomers such as begonias, roses and ginger are continuing to push out flowers.

Remember to water those transplants. Our weather continues to be drier than normal, too. October's usual 1 inch of rainfall never materialized. November averages about 2 inches.

This warm weather is also bringing out mosquitoes. Be on the alert and empty any standing water that may have accumulated in saucers under pots. Wear long sleeves and long pants when working in the garden in late afternoon and evening, when the mosquitoes are most active.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

fall vegetables Sacramento roses fall gardening chrysanthemums weather mosquitoes November fall planting gardening begonias rainfall transplants

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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.

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