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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 6

Enjoy these spring-like days while tackling December tasks

Cilantro
Cilantro is a winter crop in our climate. (Yes, gotta clear away
all those leaves.) (Photo: Kathy Morrison)




These late-fall days feel like spring. For the coming week, afternoon highs will continue to peak in the mid to high 60s, about 10 degrees above normal for December in Sacramento.

According to the National Weather Service, this sunny, dry and mostly clear weather will continue through at least Friday. Expect windy conditions Sunday through Tuesday; that brings heightened fire danger. Don't burn anything outdoors.

Overnight lows will continue to dip into the 30s but not quite reach freezing. Still, have the frost blankets handy.

Such beautiful weather makes time spent outdoors especially appealing (particularly when trying to shelter in place). Need some ideas?

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they're dormant.
* Rake and remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials.
* Rake leaves from trees and use as mulch or compost.
* It's not too late to transplant shrubs and trees.
* Divide and transplant perennials such as daylilies and Shasta daisies.
* Bare-root season begins. Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb.
* Transplant seedlings for bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard and spinach.
* From seed, plant fava beans, chard, leaf lettuce, mustard, radishes and spinach.
* Plant garlic and onion sets.
* Add some winter and early spring color. Plant pansies, snapdragons, stocks, Icelandic poppies, calendulas and other favorites.
* Plant one more round of spring-flowering bulbs such as tulips, daffodils and hyacinths.
* Transplant herbs including most of the mint family (such as catmint and oregano), cilantro, rosemary, fennel and scented geraniums.

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Garden Checklist for week of May 18

Get outside early in the morning while temperatures are still cool – and get to work!

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. Transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.

* Plant dahlia tubers.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Are birds picking your fruit off trees before it’s ripe? Try hanging strips of aluminum foil on tree branches. The shiny, dangling strips help deter birds from making themselves at home.

* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.

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