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

Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 5

Some much-needed rain may be coming soon

Red poinsettias
Poinsettias prefer warm, sunny spots. Don't forget to water them thoroughly after you bring them home and regularly afterwards. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

“Keep your umbrellas handy” – how long has it been since you read that phrase?

But that’s the advice ahead of what could (finally) be a soggy week in Sacramento.

According to the National Weather Service, expect “unsettled weather next week,” starting with light showers in northern California on Monday and Tuesday. Sacramento will see a better chance of widespread rain Thursday and Friday. Late week mountain snow is possible.

But the weather service added this disclaimer: “Medium forecast confidence.”

Similar weather systems have flirted with Northern California this season only to bend north. Drenched by atmospheric rivers, Seattle recorded its wettest November in history with some suburbs recording more than 14 inches.

Meanwhile, California has been extremely dry. Los Angeles saw its first rainless November in more than 30 years. Sacramento’s November rain total (0.72 inches) was about 40% of average.

What’s average for December? Historically, 3.25 inches.

Rain or no rain, patchy ground fog will continue, says the weather service. That will keep high temperatures just about normal for early December: 58 to 62 degrees. Overnight lows will stay relatively warm in the mid 40s.

Make the most of dry days in your garden:

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they're dormant.

* Brighten the holidays with winter bloomers such as calendulas, Iceland poppies, pansies and primroses.

* Keep poinsettias in a sunny, warm location. Water thoroughly.

* Rake and remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials.

* Remember to water, especially seedlings, new transplants and potted plants.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Plant one last round of spring bulbs. Get the tulips out of the refrigerator.

* Bare-root season begins. Plant bare-root roses, berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb.

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!