Cold, rainy conditions in forecast for Sacramento
The soil is this garden is 58 degrees -- not quite optimal for planting. That tomato seedling in the container should be transplanted into a 1-gallon pot so it can grow while waiting for the weather to improve. Kathy Morrison
Spring arrived on Monday with a bit of a surprise – sun! Sunday’s storm moved through faster than expected, but another is on its way.
The National Weather Service warns that thunderstorms are possible from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday for much of the Central Valley and the Sierra with the possibility of gusty wind, heavy rain and hail.
Sacramento is on the fringe of this storm zone; the weather service expects “definite rain showers” to return here Tuesday and Wednesday. Sacramento’s chance of rain Tuesday morning: 90%. “The cool and unsettled weather pattern will continue into next weekend,” the NWS Sacramento office adds.
Sacramento received about a third of an inch (0.35 plus a trace) from this past weekend’s storm. That brought our March total to 3.33 inches. Normal for that 19-day period: 1.8 inches.
These passing storms will be accompanied by gusty winds (25 mph-plus) on Tuesday night. Otherwise, it will be breezy and chilly – definitely sweater weather. Most days will top out below 60 degrees – more than 10 degrees below normal. Tuesday’s forecast high is only 54.
So, even though Monday’s sunny weather felt like “go,” slow down on spring planting. Chilly conditions will put on the brakes to early growth.
Further delaying development of seeds and new transplants: Cold soil. It’s not going to warm up much this week. Overnight lows are lingering in the low 40s. Saturday’s expected low is 37!
You can’t put a sweater on your seedlings, but make sure they stay relatively warm. Use hot caps, row covers, milk jugs or other protection from these still-winter-like conditions. Mulch around plants will add some warmth to their roots, too.
And please, don’t plant tomatoes this first week of spring. They will sit there and sulk, if not curl up and die. If already in the ground, make sure those babies are mulched and protected.
If you have tomato seedlings ready to go (or bought some), transplant them into 1-gallon black plastic pots lined with newsprint. The black plastic absorbs heat and the newspaper insulates the rootball. In late April after soil temperature warms up, move the tomato plant – rootball and all – into the garden. After this head start, the plant should produce tomatoes faster and more of them – especially in warm weather.
What will April bring? According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, Northern California – and most of the U.S. – can expect warmer than normal temperatures in April and May. After all our rain this season, we should see a lot of spring flowers.
Says the almanac, “Warmer-than-normal spring temperatures for most of the country is good news for gardeners.”
For Sacramento weather updates: https://www.weather.gov/sto/
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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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