Some rain possible from unusual storm system, but not a deluge
Clip off spent roses and fertilize the plants now. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading. Kathy Morrison
A tropical storm in August – in Sacramento? Don’t get too excited about the prospects of a local deluge thanks to Hurricane Hilary. By the time the remnants of this unusual storm system reach our latitude, there won’t be much left – and it will mostly bend towards the Sierra, says the National Weather Service.
We could still get a little wet Sunday and Monday in Sacramento, says the weather service.
“Hilary's track has shifted eastward slightly since yesterday,” tweeted the NWS Sacramento office on Saturday morning. “Widespread rain is still expected across interior NorCal with limited impacts. Highest rain totals will be in the Sierra.”
As of Saturday morning, the Sacramento forecast calls for “a slight chance of rain” on Sunday and early Monday. The chances increase to 40% by late Monday morning and most of the day. The anticipated rain total for Hilary’s impact on Sacramento: 0.18 inches.
August rain is not unheard of in Sacramento, but it’s typically scant; the month’s historical rain total averages 0.05 inches. So, the expected total is still three times our historic average. Likely, you’ll have to keep the sprinklers on this week.
The storm’s cloud cover will lower temperatures significantly. Monday’s forecast high is only 83 degrees – about 20 below last week’s highs. But that cooling trend will be short-lived; Sacramento will be back to 97 degrees by Wednesday.
Take advantage of that cloudy cooldown for any garden chores. Concentrate on maintenance and preparation for fall.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* If you haven’t already, feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that's now forming.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting. (Always water before feeding.)
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Feed them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.
* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias, annuals and container plants.
* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.
* 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.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, bush beans, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.
* Plant potatoes.
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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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