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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of April 28


Are your tomato seedlings producing flowers before they're even planted? Pinch off these early flowers so the plant will
put its energy into growing strong new roots.

Sunday will be perfect for planting tomatoes and more



Suddenly, it feels likes summer – or at least early June.

Spiking into the high 80s and low 90s, Sacramento temperatures have been running 10 to 12 degrees above normal for late April. Reacting to this spring heat wave, everything seems to be growing (or fading) faster.

Such cool-season crops as lettuce, broccoli, cabbage and kale, which all were enjoying cooler days in March and early April, are quickly bolting to seed. Meanwhile, tomato vines love these higher temperatures, adding inches every day.

According to the National Weather Service, the days ahead will be sunny but not quite so warm, staying just below 80 – which is where we want to be right now.

Take advantage of this “normal” weather and plant summer favorites. It’s perfect timing -- April 28 is Sacramento’s unofficial Tomato Planting Day!

* Set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, 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.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Run the sprinklers early in the day -- before 8 a.m. if possible -- to minimize plant diseases.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

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Taste Summer! E-cookbook

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Dig In: Garden Checklist

For week of Sept. 24:

This week our weather will be just right for fall gardening. What are you waiting for?

* Now is the time to plant for fall. The warm soil will get these veggies off to a fast start.

* Keep harvesting tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and eggplant. Tomatoes may ripen faster off the vine and sitting on the kitchen counter.

* 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.

* 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 and cauliflower as well as lettuce seedlings.

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

* Transplant cool-weather annuals such as pansies, violas, fairy primroses, calendulas, stocks and snapdragons.

* Divide and replant bulbs, rhizomes and perennials. That includes bearded iris; if they haven’t bloomed in three years, it’s time to dig them up and divide their rhizomes.

* 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.

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

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

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Find our spring recipes here!