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Dig In: Checklist for week of Sept. 22


Color alone does not indicate that a pumpkin is ready to be harvested. Wait until the outer shell hardens before picking. Use your thumbnail to test; it should dent but not puncture the pumpkin skin. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)


New season starts with dry, windy conditions


Fall begins with a last gasp of summer heat.

Conditions this week represent high fire danger for Northern California, according to the National Weather Service. Monday, the first official day of fall, will see winds blowing 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30. Combined with extremely low humidity and warm temperatures, those winds could rapidly spread wildfires.

It’s a reminder to clean up dried grasses, pine needles and other fodder for wildfire. But be careful: Don’t create sparks with your tools or machinery.

After some hot days this week, weather will rapidly cool down in the weeks to come. Get your garden into autumn mode:

* Keep an eye on pumpkins and winter squash. If possible, elevate the ripening fruit or put something underneath them to avoid rot on the bottom. They’re ready to pick when the skin is fully colored and starting to harden; when pressed with your thumbnail, the skin will dent but not puncture. Another sign they’re ready for harvest: The stem will dry out.

* Cultivate and add compost to the soil to replenish its nutrients for fall and winter vegetables and flowers.

* Fertilize deciduous fruit trees.

* Plant onions, lettuce, peas, radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, bok choy, spinach and potatoes directly into the vegetable beds.

* Transplant cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and lettuce seedlings.

* Sow seeds of California poppies, clarkia and African daisies.

* Transplant pansies, violas, fairy primroses, calendulas, stocks, snapdragons and other cool-season flowers.

* Late September is ideal for sowing a new lawn or re-seeding bare spots.


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Garden Checklist for week of June 22

Mornings this first week of summer will remain comfortably cool – just right for gardening!

* Water early in the morning to cut down on evaporation. Check soil moisture and deep water trees and shrubs. Keep new transplants and veggies evenly moist. Deep water tomatoes to encourage deep roots.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias. It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.

* Avoid pot “hot feet.” Place a 1-inch-thick board under container plants sitting on pavement. This little cushion helps insulate them from radiated heat.

* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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