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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Oct. 21

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED OCT 20, 2018

Granny Smith apples will keep longer off the tree than
early-season varieties. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Apple time tips: How to pick a perfect Granny Smith and more

It's apple time! October is peak harvest for apples in the greater Sacramento area including nearby Apple Hill near Placerville.

If you have backyard trees or visiting a pick-your-own orchard, how do you tell if an apple is ready?
Apple trees tend to ripen their fruit from the outside in. Apples that developed on the tree's outer edges will be ready before apples that grew closer to the trunk.
Color is a clue, but not a decider. Granny Smiths stay green when ripe. Other varieties such as McIntosh and Braeburn retain some green color as they blush red.

The easiest way to tell if an apple is ripe is taste it. Pick a sample, cut it open and try it. Notice the seeds; that's another clue. Mature apples will have brown seeds.

A ripe apple is easy to pick. With a little upward twist, it separates from the tree without pulling.
When picking, treat apples like eggs. They bruise and nick easily, which hurts their long-term storage.

Late-season apples such as Granny Smith, Rome and Fuji tend to have thicker skins and will keep longer off the tree. Red or Yellow Delicious and Gala varieties, all known for their sweetness, have thinner skins; they'll last weeks instead of months in storage.

Apples will continue to develop off the tree, eventually becoming soft and mushy. According to growers, one bad apple will indeed spoil the bunch. Cull any damaged or bruised apples (they're fine for eating fresh or cooking) before storing.

How to store those apples? Ideally, at 35 degrees F. in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. Store the apples in a plastic bag with holes punched in it.

If you have a lot of apples, store them in a cool, relatively dark place such as a garage. To keep them fresh for as long as possible, wrap each apple (preferably with stem attached) in newspaper and place in a single layer.

Want to know more about apples or get some of the new harvest? Apple Hill's farms are now open. Details: www.applehill.com .

Besides harvesting apples, here are other garden tasks this week:
* Harvest pumpkins and winter squash.
* Divide and replant perennials such as bearded iris, Shasta daisy and asters.
* Plant directly from seed such spring flowers as cornflower, nasturtium, nigella, poppy, portulaca, sweet pea and stock.
* Set out cool-weather bedding plants, including calendula, pansy, snapdragon, primrose and viola.
* Plant seeds for radishes, bok choy, mustard, spinach and peas. Plant garlic and onions.
* Transplant lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, kale and cauliflower.
* Reseed and feed the lawn. Work on bare spots.

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seeds Sacramento garden chores fall gardening fruit trees lawn orchards apples gardening cool-weather vegetables El Dorado County Apple Hill flowers

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Food in My Back Yard Series

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March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

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Garden Checklist for week of April 27

Once the clouds clear, get to work. Spring growth is in high gear.

* Set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* 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.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Start thinning fruit that's formed on apple and stone fruit trees -- you'll get larger fruit at harvest (and avoid limb breakage) if some is thinned now. The UC recommendation is to thin fruit when it is about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Peaches and nectarines should be thinned to about 6 inches apart; smaller fruit such as plums and pluots can be about 4 inches apart. Apricots can be left at 3 inches apart. Apples and pears should be thinned to one fruit per cluster of flowers, 6 to 8 inches apart.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

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