After record heat, some cool relief is on its way
Butterflies love zinnias. There is still plenty of time to plant flowers for late-summer splashes of color. Kathy Morrison
Get ready for a red-hot weekend before a return to more normal midsummer temperatures.
According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento and other inland cities have already broken heat records with more possible.
“There was some record heat today!” tweeted the NWS Sacramento office Friday night. “A daily record of 108 was set in downtown Sacramento, breaking the previous record of 106 set in 1996. Records of 112 were tied for Redding Airport (1988) and for Red Bluff Airport (1961).”
It could be even hotter some places this weekend before our Delta breeze returns Sunday night.
“Very hot weather will continue across interior #NorCal today with record highs possible,” added the weather service Saturday. “Temperatures will begin to trend downward beginning Sunday, and will be around average early next week.”
For the record book, Sacramento’s all-time record high – 116 degrees – was set Sept. 6 last year. That broke a record of 114 that had stood since 1925.
“If you have access to air conditioning, use it,” cautioned the weather service on Saturday. “Fans may not be adequate.”
Fortunately, this heat wave is expected to pass soon. According to the weather service, Sacramento will be back in the 90s by Monday with a forecast high of 97 – normal for late July. By Wednesday, breezy conditions will keep afternoons refreshingly cool; the forecast high for Thursday and Friday is 91 degrees – 17 degrees cooler than that record July 21.
With that in mind, postpone outdoor tasks such as mowing, weeding and planting until midweek or later if possible. Even on those cooler days, take advantage of early mornings when temperatures will be only in the 60s or 70s.
* One good thing about hot days: Most lawns stop growing when temperatures top 95 degrees. When you do mow, set mower blades on high; taller grass shades its roots and copes better with high heat.
* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.
* Wait on fertilizing vegetables and blooming annuals until temperatures cool later this week. Make sure to water deeply before feeding.
* Don’t let tomatoes wilt or dry out completely. Give tomatoes a deep watering two to three times a week.
* Harvest vegetables promptly to encourage plants to produce more. Squash especially tends to grow rapidly in hot weather. Keep an eye on zucchini.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.
* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers as they finish flowering.
* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.
* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.
* It’s not too late to add a splash of color. Plant petunias, snapdragons, zinnias and marigolds; all are great for containers.
* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
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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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