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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Aug. 2

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED AUG 1, 2020

Keep cherry tomatoes and others harvested to keep the plant producing. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

July really was hot; expect a normal August

It wasn't your imagination. If you thought this summer felt hotter than usual, you're right!

According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento daily highs in July averaged 96.9 degrees, 3.6 degrees above normal. We endured 10 days in triple digits, topped by two days (July 11 and 12) at 106.

We weren't the only folks who saw baking-hot temperatures. Redding, for example, had 21 triple-digit days in July, including 111 on July 15. Redding highs averaged 101 degrees for the month.

Fortunately, Sacramento overnight lows stayed normal -- 61 degrees. That nightly cooldown kept mornings (and soil) comfortable.

As for the week ahead? After a few more hot days, our afternoons will settle down into the low 90s with overnights dipping down into the 50s. That's normal; our August highs average 91 degrees with lows of 58.

Don't expect any rain soon. Our August precipitation averages 0.05 inches.

What to do during cool mornings this week:

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, peppers and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing.

* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that's now forming.

* Pick up after your other fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.

* If camellia leaves are looking a little yellow, give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.

* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.

* Pinch off dead flowers from perennials and annuals to lengthen their summer bloom.

Keep roses deadheaded.

* Trim off spent rose blooms.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.

* Plant potatoes.

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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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