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Healthy Recipes for BBQ Season
As the days grow longer and the temperatures rise, it's time to fire up the grill and indulge in the delights of outdoor cooking. But who says BBQ season has to be all about indulgence? With a lit...
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Summer gets off to blazing start with string of 100-plus days
Get ready for a red-hot summer! Tuesday is officially the first day of summer – and what could be the start of a string of triple-digit days.
According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can expect to see afternoon highs of 100 to 103 degrees Tuesday through Friday before a slight dip back into the high 90s next weekend. The forecast is relentlessly sunny and dry. Normal for mid June in Sacramento: high of 87 and low of 56.
Overnight lows also will be about 10 degrees higher than normal, hovering in the mid 60s. That makes for warm mornings, too. Irrigate before 8 a.m. to avoid quick evaporation. That’s the best time for exercise and any outdoor chores, too.
This warm spell has benefits. Say goodbye to powdery mildew! Infected leaves will fall off and (fingers crossed) soon be replaced with healthy foliage. Make sure to pick up and dispose of that mildewed foliage; otherwise, it can reinfect healthy leaves in the fall.
Hot days also prompt rapid growth of such summer favorites as tomatoes, squash and peppers. Inspect plants daily if possible. Watch for evidence of spider mites, leaf-footed bugs and tomato hornworms, and act quickly if you find them.
* Keep vegetables irrigated with even moisture in the root zone. That will help those fast-growing plants cope with high heat as well as prevent blossom end rot.
* Are plants getting enough water? Check soil with a moisture meter or feel for yourself – take a trowel and dig down 6 inches. If the soil will ball in your hand, it’s moist. If it’s powdery or (worse) if you can’t dig down 6 inches, it’s time for a deep soak.
* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather. Use organic material (premade mulch, wood chips, leaves, straw), but not rocks -- rocks absorb heat and will stress the plants.
* Water your lawn during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.
* If you haven’t already, upgrade lawn irrigation with rotator heads; this simple switch waters better (deeper, more complete coverage, less runoff) while saving water. Rebates are available, www.bewatersmart.info .
* Don’t fertilize during triple-digit heat. It can stress plants. Wait until another cooldown.
* Avoid pot “hot feet.” Place a 1-inch-thick board under container plants sitting on pavement. This little cushion helps insulate them from radiated heat.
* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.
* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.
* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.
* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries after harvest.
* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.
* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.
* Harvest onions and garlic.
* Harvest fruit; apricots, plums and peaches are ripening quickly. Pick up fallen fruit to dissuade pests.
* From seed or transplant, plant basil, corn, melons, bush beans, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.
* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds, cosmos and zinnias.
* Transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.
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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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