Sacramento Digs Gardening: Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Aug. 25

In hot weather, harvest crops daily. Tomatoes and other vegetables can

ripen rapidly. The plants also may need some shade to prevent sunburn.
(Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Are your plants ready for more triple-digit weather?

Hot! That's the forecast from the National Weather Service as Sacramento faces at least five consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures.

The upper range for the Central Valley is predicted between 98 and 107 degrees for Tuesday, the peak of this heat wave. Keeping us warm, overnight lows are hovering around 70.

Stay hydrated. That goes for you and your garden. Irrigate early in the morning or evening. Try to limit your garden activities to the cooler parts of the day.

Put off major chores and planting until the weather cools back down into the low and mid 90s, the current forecast for next weekend. (Remember: It's not lazy, it's smart.)

What to do while you can:
* Test soil moisture. Use a moisture meter or just a long-handled screwdriver. If it can't penetrate 6 inches, that hard soil is too dry. Deep water where needed.

* Harvest daily. Crops can ripen rapidly in hot weather and quickly go over the top.

* Got watermelons? As they near ripeness, cut back on water for the last two weeks or they may split. Look at the little curly tendril growing opposite the melon on the vine. If it's green and springy, the melon is still growing, so keep watering. If it's yellow, cut back on irrigation. If the tendril is brown, the melon is at full size and ripe.

* Shade ripening tomatoes, eggplant and peppers; they can easily sunburn in this weather.

* Skip the fertilizer this week; it may cause more plant stress than good.

* Check on new transplants; are they getting enough water? Do they need temporary shade?

* Let the lawn grow (if it's growing at all). Longer grass conserves moisture.

* Pick up fallen fruit; it attracts all sorts of pests.

CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

Your weekly checklist of activities in the garden.

Keywords:

harvest Sacramento garden chores soil moisture irrigation weather gardening lawns heat checklist melons summer sunburn transplants

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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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