Overnight lows could reach 29 degrees, kill crops and damage plumbing
Wet today, frozen tomorrow? The predicted temperature drop could harm tender plants and blossoms on fruit trees. Kathy Morrison
Get ready for a big chill. Tuesday morning, the Sacramento office of the National Weather Service issued an “Urgent Weather Message” – freeze warnings for the next two nights.
With overnight lows expected to dip down to 29 to 32 degrees, back-to-back overnight freeze warnings will be in effect from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday (March 1 and 2) for Southern Sacramento Valley-Carquinez Strait and Delta-Northern San Joaquin Valley, says the bulletin. That includes the cities of Sacramento, Fairfield, Suisun City, Stockton and Modesto.
Potential impacts could be costly, warns the weather service. “Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.”
Those subfreezing temperatures will hit after the Sacramento skies clear and the rain stops late Tuesday, so there’s little chance of snow or graupel, says the forecast.
These two freezes to start March follow a rainy end to February. With rain on six consecutive days, Downtown Sacramento recorded more than 2 inches, including a record 0.91 inches Friday (Feb. 24). All this precipitation will keep soil moist, which is good frost protection. Moist soil retains heat better than dry soil. That difference can raise the temperature around trees and shrubs by three or four degrees – just enough to stay above freezing and frost damage.
That rain also means there’s no need for added irrigation; turn off the sprinklers and drip systems.
Making sure there’s no water in landscape pipes, tubes and heads can help prevent damage during freezing temperatures, too.
Between showers Tuesday, take action. Move plants or add frost covers. Harvest ripe citrus.
The weather service recommends these precautions: “Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes, they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly. Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above-ground pipes to protect them from freezing.”
For more tips on freezing and frost: https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/ENVIRON/frostdamage.html.
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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.
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