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Dig In: Garden checkllst for week of July 14


Harvest blackberries as they ripen. Check daily. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)
Enjoy some totally normal July days, watch your crops



This coming week will be just about as normal as it gets for July in Sacramento.

After a weekend spike in temperature to open the State Fair, highs will be back in the low 90s Monday through Friday, and likely into next weekend, too.

According to the National Weather Service, the average high for July is 92 degrees. Expect to see 91 or 92 at least three days this week, probably more.

What that means: It's perfect tomato weather. They'll ripen rapidly. So will squash, berries and stone fruit.

Tomatoes love this weather and
will ripen rapidly now.
*Harvest frequently; that encourages several varieties of tomatoes, squash, beans and peppers to bear more.

* Cut back berry canes after harvest. Remove the canes that bore fruit to encourage new growth.

* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.

* Water, then fertilize vegetables and blooming annuals, perennials and shrubs to give them a boost. Bone meal or other high-phosphate fertilizers stimulate more blooms and fruiting.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.

* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other shrubs or perennials as they finish flowering.

* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.

* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.

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

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Dig In: Garden Checklist

For week of March 19:

Spring will start a bit soggy, but there’s still plenty to do between showers:

* Fertilize roses, annual flowers and berries as spring growth begins to appear.

* Watch out for aphids. Wash off plants with strong blast from the hose.

* Pull weeds now! Don’t let them get started. Take a hoe and whack them as soon as they sprout.

* Prepare summer vegetable beds. Spade in compost and other amendments.

* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs after bloom.

* Feed camellias at the end of their bloom cycle. Pick up browned and fallen flowers to fight blossom blight.

* Feed citrus trees as they start to blossom.

* Cut back and fertilize perennial herbs to encourage new growth.

* Seed and renovate the lawn (if you still have one). Feed cool-season grasses such as bent, blue, rye and fescue with a slow-release fertilizer. Check the irrigation system and perform maintenance. Make sure sprinkler heads are turned toward the lawn, not the sidewalk.

* In the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and kale.

* Seed chard and beets directly into the ground.

* Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. Also plant dahlia tubers.

* Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries and at plant events. They can be transplanted now while the weather remains relatively cool.

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