Make most of mild Memorial Day weekend weather
Transplant marigolds now for continued summer color. Some gardeners like to edge their vegetable planting areas with marigolds. Kathy Morrison
Our weird spring weather continues into the unofficial start of summer – but who’s complaining? Milder than normal temperatures give us procrastinating gardeners more time to plant tomatoes and a lot more.
According to the National Weather Service, a marine layer hanging offshore of San Francisco Bay pushed into the Delta. More moisture and turbulent conditions were expected to produce thunderstorms (and hail) in the foothills and Sierra.
While Sacramento may not have many clouds, we get the benefit of that cool moisture surrounding the Valley and lower-than-normal temperatures.
Average high for the last week of May in Sacramento: 85 degrees. Last year, Memorial Day weekend hit 102 degrees.
Instead, Sacramento saw four straight days this past week in the mid to low 70s. After a high of 92 on Monday (May 22), Thursday only reached 72 – a 20-degree drop.
More 70s are forecast for Sacramento by the weather service for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, before we edge into the low 80s. But we’re expected to remain on the cool side of normal through next weekend.
Make the most of these cooler temperatures. Get to work!
* 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.
* Put your veggie garden on a regular diet. Set up a monthly fertilizing program, and keep track on your calendar. Make sure to water your garden before applying any fertilizer to prevent “burning” your plants. (Also, don't fertilize droopy or stressed plants -- it will just stress them more.)
* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to maintain soil moisture and cut down on weeds. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle around tree or shrub trunks to avoid crown rot or other problems.
* Plant, plant, plant! Set out tomato transplants along with peppers, eggplants, squash and melons.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed or transplant sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.
* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.
* Transplant summer color such as petunias and marigolds.
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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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