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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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Weather service predicts big cooldown this weekend in Sacramento
These Betty Boop roses, usually with bright red edges, faded immediately in the heat and sun. Instead, their petals are edged in brown. Their stamens dried out quickly, too, depriving bees of food. Debbie Arrington
Smoky skies may bring an end to Sacramento’s string of record-hot days.
“It's a good news/bad news type of Friday here,” tweeted the Sacramento office of the National Weather Service. “Bad: #MosquitoFire smoke is affecting areas downwind of the fire. Good: Smoke may keep afternoon temps a few degrees cooler than originally forecast. Will have to wait & see how it plays out this afternoon during peak heating!”
That original forecast for Downtown Sacramento: 107 degrees.
Added the weather service, if you smell smell, avoid being outdoors.
This smoky day follows a record hot week including the all-time hottest temperature recorded in Sacramento: 116 degrees on Tuesday. (The weather service records go back to 1877.)
Thursday hit 113 – our 43rd triple-digit day this year. That set a new record -- the previous one was 41, set in 1988.
The combination of extreme heat and smoke has stressed plants as well as people. In my own garden, for example, my rose blooms are significantly smaller than usual. Petals are rimmed with brown before they open. Foliage looks sunburned – pale, silvery or toasted around the edges.
But more normal temperatures are on the way: Already in the forecast is a significant cooldown – a 20-degree drop – on Saturday, with clearer skies. “Onshore flow is expected to return tomorrow, so that should push the smoke more to the east/northeast,” tweeted the weather experts.
Weekend temperatures are expected to get no higher than 90 degrees in Sacramento. Afternoon highs in the low 80s are expected by Wednesday. Nighttime temperatures will be 20 degrees cooler, too, dipping into the mid 50s.
This weekend, survey the garden for heat stress. Trim off damaged foliage or toasted blooms. Rinse smoke residue off foliage. And enjoy some much better weather: The long-range September forecast is filled with days in the 80s.
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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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