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Reset clocks this weekend -- and sprinklers, too

Daylight time starts Sunday; expanded watering schedule already here

Sidewalk with water from sprinkler
Sprinklers should be adjusted so they're not watering the sidewalk or the
gutter. Sacramento also does not permit irrigation during midday, only between 7 p.m. and 10 a.m. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)




Time to spring forward! Daylight-saving time starts Sunday, March 14.

Remember to reset your clocks before you go to bed Saturday night.

Also, reset clocks and timers on your irrigation system. With lengthening days, you’ll likely want to water earlier and later than your winter schedule.

In Sacramento, March also brings a return of the warm-season watering schedule. Residents may use sprinklers twice a week, depending on address. Even-numbered homes may water Wednesday and Sunday; odd-numbered homes water on Tuesday and Saturday.

Regardless of your watering days, hours are restricted to the period 7 p.m. to 10 a.m. So, either water in the evening, overnight or early morning.

The exception: Drip irrigation may be used at any time. Also, plants in containers may be watered as needed.

Installing new sod or other landscaping? You may water 30 consecutive days to help get it established. Same goes for a reseeded lawn.

City of Sacramento reminds residents that runoff from irrigation is not permitted at any time. So use this weekend to check for leaks and malfunctioning sprinkler heads, too. Water the landscaping, not the sidewalk.

And if it rains (as we saw this week), remember to turn off irrigation – at least for a little while. The city recommends keeping sprinklers off for 48 hours after .125 inch of rain or more.

For more tips:
https://bit.ly/3ezajsY

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Garden Checklist for week of April 20

Before possible showers at the end of the week, take advantage of all this nice sunshine – and get to work!

* Set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Give shrubs and trees a dose of a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Start thinning fruit that's formed on apple and stone fruit trees -- you'll get larger fruit at harvest (and avoid limb breakage) if some is thinned now. The UC recommendation is to thin fruit when it is about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Peaches and nectarines should be thinned to about 6 inches apart; smaller fruit such as plums and pluots can be about 4 inches apart. Apricots can be left at 3 inches apart. Apples and pears should be thinned to one fruit per cluster of flowers, 6 to 8 inches apart.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants go to seed.

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