Sacramento Digs Gardening: Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Sept. 15

Persimmons are ripening -- be sure to pick up any that fall off the tree. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

Rain possible on Monday, then great weather to close out summer

Change is in the air – and it’s not just smoke.

According to the National Weather Service, the greater Sacramento area has a 40 percent chance of rain Monday. This could be the first real precipitation in weeks, but not that unusual. September averages .29 inches of rain.

But after this storm system blows through, the sun will return. Fortunately, high temperatures most of this coming week will be in the low 80s.

Make the most of this prime almost-fall weather by getting your garden ready for the months ahead.

* Do your tomato plants have new flowers? Leave them in place for a little longer. If the fruit sets, those tomatoes will be ripe for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

* Peppers and eggplant with new blooms may set late-season fruit, too.

*Keep an eye on squash, melons and pumpkins. Summer varieties are still blooming and fruiting.

* Cut back on water as melons ripen.

* Compost annuals and vegetable crops that have finished producing.

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

* Pick up fallen apples, pears and persimmons; they attract pests as they rot.

* Fertilize deciduous fruit trees.

* Divide and replant bulbs, rhizomes and perennials.

* Dig up and divide daylilies as they complete their bloom cycle.

* Divide and transplant peonies that have become overcrowded. Replant with "eyes" about an inch below the soil surface.

* 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.

* Transplant pansies, violas, fairy primroses, calendulas, stocks and snapdragons.

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

CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

Your weekly checklist of activities in the garden.

Keywords:

fall vegetables peonies Sacramento daylilies garden chores fruit trees lawn weather fall planting gardening rainfall bulbs compost perennials watering

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Garden Checklist for week of April 21

This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.

* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.

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