Dig In: Garden checklist for week of June 9

Is your garden ready to take the heat? The calendar may still say “spring,” but summer has arrived. According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can expect more triple-digit heat this week – well above normal for mid-June. We’re officially on an “excessive heat watch” through Wednesday night, June 12.

After a mild weekend with temperatures close to average, the forecast calls for another rapid warm-up, peaking at 101 degrees on Tuesday. Fortunately, breezy weather for the rest of the week will lower those high temperatures back into the low 90s. Normal for this week: 87 degrees.

Overnight lows will remain warm, too, but not as hot as last week. Most nights will still dip into the high 50s and mornings will feel almost cool.

Remember, take care of chores early in the day. That includes irrigation; all this warmth makes your plants thirsty.

* Let the grass grow longer – if it grows at all. When temperatures top 95 degrees, most turf grasses stop growing. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.

* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don't let them dry out completely. That can encourage blossom-end rot.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.

* Avoid pot “hot feet.” Place a 1-inch-thick board under container plants sitting on pavement. This little cushion helps insulate them from radiated heat.

* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.

* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.