Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

Dig In: Garden Checklist for week of Sept. 30

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED SEP 29, 2018

October is prime time for planting in Sacramento

Cheery violas can be planted now, as well as other cool-weather bedding annuals. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Feel that wonderful cool air? That's October weather; warm enough to keep the soil cozy, yet with a refreshing breeze. And on the horizon? Possible rain.

It makes for ideal planting conditions for a wide range of plants, from cool-weather annuals and vegetables to major trees and shrubs.

If you're thinking about a landscape make-over or just a few minor tweaks, this is the time to do it. October is a sweet spot for garden success.

Why? Ideal weather for transplanting before winter. In Sacramento, the average high temperature for October is 78 degrees with an average low of 50. Days can soar back into the triple-digits, but only briefly. Then, they settle back quickly into fall.

October also starts the "rainy season," averaging just below an inch. Historically, that precipitation comes in small polite doses, from storms on their way east. That helps new transplants settle in nicely into that still-warm and comfortable soil.

All those factors help plants become established quicker with less stress -- for them and gardeners.
Here are suggestions for a very busy garden week and month:

* Undoubtedly, October is the best month to plant perennials in our area. Add a little well-aged compost and bone meal to the planting hole, but hold off on other fertilizers until spring.
Because rain will not be enough this month, keep the transplants well-watered (but not wet) for the first month as they become settled.

* It's also perfect conditions for transplanting many California natives. It gives them that opportunity to put down roots and get established over winter.

* Now also is the time to plant seeds for many flowers directly into the garden, including cornflower, nasturtium, nigella, poppy, portulaca, sweet pea and stocks.

* Plant spring bulbs. Daffodils and Dutch iris can go directly in the ground without pre-chilling.

* Set out cool-weather bedding plants, including calendula, pansy, snapdragon, primrose and viola.

* Reseed and feed the lawn. Work on bare spots.

* Or consider taking lawn out to replace with more water-efficient landscaping.

*In the vegetable garden, plant seeds for radishes, bok choy, mustard, spinach and peas. Plant garlic and onions.

*Transplant cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and lettuce seedlings.

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

Your weekly checklist of activities in the garden.

Keywords:

cool-season annuals seeds Sacramento garden chores lawn fall planting gardening vegetables native plants rainfall bulbs perennials

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Thanks to Our Sponsor!

Local News

Sites We Like

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.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!