Sacramento forecast calls for three days of steady rain
Get that rake busy, especially if there are leaves in the gutter or up around the stems or trunks of dormant trees, shrubs and perennials. (But leave a least some of the leaves on open ground for insects and as weed-smothering mulch.) Kathy Morrison
Get ready for rain – for real, this time.
According to the National Weather Service, Northern California should expect three days of steady rain, coming soon. Sacramento could get 2 to 3 inches with this storm starting late Sunday night. For Monday and Tuesday, the weather service forecasts “definite rain showers and thunderstorms.”
Rain is expected to continue through Wednesday evening, tapering off through the day.
We need it. So far, December has yielded only 0.65 inches of rain in Sacramento. Normal for this month: 3.25 inches.
Temperatures will be on the mild side with highs hovering around 60 degrees each day. Overnight lows will be comparatively warm – 54 degrees on Tuesday and 52 on Wednesday. Sacramento’s average high for December is 54 degrees.
Those warmer-than-average temperatures reflect the origin of this winter storm; this is a slow-moving Pacific system coming from the west, not the north.
Tackle garden chores before the rain arrives. Afterwards, your landscape likely will be pretty soggy.
* Thursday is the first official day of winter and the shortest day of the year. After the soil dries a bit, it'll be a great time to plant garlic and onions for harvest in summer.
* Rake leaves away from gutters and storm drains.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they're dormant.
* Clean and sharpen garden tools before storing for the winter.
* Move poinsettias indoors and out of the rain. Keep them in a bright and warm location.
* Rake and remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials.
* Just because it rained doesn't mean every plant got watered. Give a drink to plants that the rain didn't reach, such as under eaves or under evergreen trees.
* Bare-root season is now in full force. Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb. Beware of soggy soil. It can rot bare-root plants. If you have bare-root plants that didn’t get into the ground before the storm, soak their roots in water or pot them up in 1- or 5-gallon containers. Bare-root roses, for example, can be kept in water up to a week.
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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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