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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Sept. 13

Cooler weather, but smoke lingers in air

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED SEP 12, 2020

Cut off spent blossoms from roses for rebloom in six to eight weeks. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

One lesson we’re learning during these final weeks of a very weird summer: Which plants cope well with smoke?

Make observations in your own garden and notes for future use.

Expect more smoke at least for the next few days along with much lower temperatures. Our afternoon highs are forecast for the 80s, more than 20 degrees cooler than last week and below normal for mid-September. But poor air quality makes it difficult to do much of anything outdoors.

Until the smoke clears, concentrate garden activity to the early morning. Wear a smoke-filtering face mask, such as a N95 (if possible), or a wet bandana.

What needs attention this week? These tasks top the list:

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants. Wash thoroughly to remove ash, grit and smoke residue.
* Water trees, shrubs and vegetable garden deeply. Give extra water and attention to plants in containers.
* Wash any accumulated ash from wildfires off leaves.
* Pull and compost spent plants in the vegetable garden.
* Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Divide and replant bearded irises.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Knock spider mites and their webs off plants with a blast of water. Do this in the morning for best results.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

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CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

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Dig In: Garden Checklist

For week of Dec. 3:

Make the most of gaps between raindrops. This is a busy month!

* Windy conditions brought down a lot of leaves. Make sure to rake them away from storm drains.

* Use those leaves as mulch around frost-tender shrubs and new transplants.

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

* Just because it rained doesn't mean every plant got watered. Give a drink to plants that the rain didn't reach, such as under eves or under evergreen trees. Also, well-watered plants hold up better to frost than thirsty plants.

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

* Clean and sharpen garden tools before storing for the winter.

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

* Keep poinsettias in a sunny, warm location. Water thoroughly. After the holidays, feed your plants monthly so they'll bloom again next December.

* Plant one last round of spring bulbs including daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, anemones and scillas. Get those tulips out of the refrigerator and into the ground.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers such as California poppies.

* Plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Late fall is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Bare-root season begins. Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb. Beware of soggy soil. It can rot bare-root plants.

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