Sacramento Digs Gardening logo
Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

Showers break Sacramento's record dry spell at 66 days

Storm drops 0.34 inches; more rain -- then heat -- coming soon


Moisture meter in pot
Well, it's better than "dry" but Tuesday morning's rain isn't going to solve all the
garden irrigation needs. Pots especially, as the meter above shows, didn't get
thoroughly soaked. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

During the last week of winter, Sacramento finally snapped its dry streak. At long last, we got measurable rain.

“Drought buster? Hardly, but we did finally snap the longest dry streak in winter at downtown Sacramento this past hour,” the National Weather Service tweeted at 3 a.m. Tuesday. “After 66 days of dry, we can now add 0.02 (inches) to the water year totals.”

Fortunately, more rain fell during Tuesday morning. According to the weather service, as of 1 p.m., Downtown Sacramento had received 0.34 inches, making Tuesday the rainiest day of 2022 (so far).

Tuesday’s showers broke a record winter dry spell that was three weeks longer than Sacramento’s previous longest streak without measurable precipitation during our October-April rainy season. Before these almost-spring showers, downtown Sacramento last got measurable rain (0.05 inches) on Jan. 7. Normally during January and February, Sacramento gets more than 7 inches of rain.

March will add to its rain total later this week. The weather service forecasts more showers on Saturday, starting sometime after 11 p.m. Friday. But we’ll need a lot more to get on track with something approaching normal; March historically averages 2.75 inches of rain in Sacramento.

What does this mean for your garden? You probably need to water. Irrigate young transplants and keep newly planted seeds evenly moist. Put down a fresh layer of mulch around tender (and thirsty) plants.

Before irrigating, check the soil for moisture. If you can’t plunge a 6-inch screwdriver more than an inch or two into the ground, deep water now.

Or use a trowel to actually take a look at your soil. Dig down and roll some dirt in your hands. If it clumps into a ball, it has enough moisture. If it doesn’t, irrigate.

Fast-growing and blooming plants will really need that moisture next week. After a showery and cool Saturday, temperatures are expected to climb rapidly. Sacramento’s forecast for next Tuesday: 84 degrees.

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Local News

Ad for California Local

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Strawberries

Find our spring recipes here!

Thanks to Our Sponsor!

Cleveland sage ad for Be Water Smart

Garden Checklist for week of June 15

Make the most of this “average” weather; your garden is growing fast! (So are the weeds!)

* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.

* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. That can encourage blossom-end rot.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias. It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Pull weeds before they go to seed.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather. It also helps smother weeds.

* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

square-tomatoes-plate.jpg

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Muffins and pumpkin

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Lemon coconut pancakes

Find our winter recipes here!