Sacramento Digs Gardening: Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Nov. 1

There's still time to plant garlic and shallots, as well as onions, but don't wait much longer. Garlic bulbs

should be separated into cloves, but shallots are planted as bulbs. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

November starts like October ended -- warm and sunny.

Expect more of the same, at least through Thursday. According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento will see several more dry days in the low 80s.

But nights are beginning to chill, dipping down into the 40s. That overnight cold will slow growth and development on those last tomatoes, peppers and squash. Maybe it's finally time to pull out those summer remainders -- even though it still feels like June.

Historically in Sacramento, most of November is much cooler, averaging highs of 64 degrees and lows of 43. But it's been a warm year; November may continue that trend. Our record high for November: 87 degrees.

On average, November usually sees some significant rain: 2.08 inches. That's good; October was completely dry.

Make good use of this perfect gardening weather:

* Make an addition to your landscape. Most trees and shrubs can be planted this month. November transplanting gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* 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.
* Pull faded annuals and vegetables.
* Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Plant bulbs to spread out your spring bloom, including daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers.

Plant snapdragons now for spring blooms.

* Plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Plant seedlings of lettuce, cabbage and broccoli and other winter veggies.
* From seed, plant peas, fava beans, carrots, radishes and beets.
* Plant garlic and onions.

CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

Your weekly checklist of activities in the garden.

Keywords:

cool-weather annuals seeds Sacramento garden checklist leaves fall planting gardening garlic fall weather mulch bulbs compost

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Garden Checklist for week of Jan. 12

Once the winds die down, it’s good winter gardening weather with plenty to do:

* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.

* Now is the time to prune fruit trees. (The exceptions are apricot and cherry trees, which are susceptible to a fungus that causes dieback. Save them until summer.) Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.

* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.

* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.

* After the wind stops, apply horticultural oil to fruit trees to control scale, mites and aphids. Oils need 24 hours of dry weather after application to be effective.

* This is also the time to spray a copper-based fungicide to peach and nectarine trees to fight leaf curl. (The safest effective fungicides available for backyard trees are copper soap -- aka copper octanoate -- or copper ammonium, a fixed copper fungicide. Apply either of these copper products with 1% horticultural oil to increase effectiveness.)

* When forced bulbs sprout, move them to a cool, bright window. Give them a quarter turn each day so the stems will grow straight.

* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.

* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.

* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.

* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs.

* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.

* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.

* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.

* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladioli for bloom from late spring into summer.

* Plant blooming azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. If you’re shopping for these beautiful landscape plants, you can now find them in full flower at local nurseries.

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