Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

Happy New Year! Now, write this down

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 1, 2019

For its customers, Davey Tree created this 2019 calendar of big trees, with handy big spaces for making notes. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Calendar an important tool for garden success

Happy new year and new month!

January in Sacramento is usually a lot like December; both months average high temperatures of 54 degrees. January nights are slightly warmer; averaging 39 degrees, one more than December.

January usually is Sacramento's rainiest month, averaging more than 3.6 inches. It rarely gets hot; Sacramento's December record is 75 degrees. But it can get cold; this is our frostiest month, too.

But what will it be like in 2019?

Here's a page from Kathy Morrison's 2018 calendar: March temperatures in Carmichael
got down to 33 degrees, but shot up to 84 by the end of the month. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Keeping track of variations in weather and other factors can help explain how our gardens grow. A calendar becomes an important tool, especially for us busy (and forgetful) gardeners. It helps you remember as well as plan.

With big spaces, a monthly calendar serves as an at-a-glance garden journal, no app or power required. Jot down when you do something -- prune, spray, feed, plant, deep water, etc. You'll thank yourself later when you try to remember those dates.

Here's why a garden journal is important: If you stumble on something that works, you want to know what it was. That way, you may be able to repeat that success.

Make notes of significant weather -- rain, fog, very low or high temperatures, wind storms, frost. Changes in weather or unusual events may explain changes in plants. Those notes also may jog your memory when looking for answers.

After that, be as detailed as time and space allows. Name what varieties were planted (in case you want to plant them again). Note first harvests, and late harvests, too.

Still need a 2019 gardening calendar? Local UCCE master gardeners offer first-rate calendars and gardening guides. Find more about them here: https://bit.ly/2GPCEM6

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

UCCE master gardeners gardening harvests Sacramento planning calendar planting frost seed starting rainfall weather

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Local News

Thanks to our sponsor!

Sites We Like

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.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!