New year starts soggy, with more rain on the way
We’ve had a lot of rain, and this gauge tells the tale: 2-3/4 inches as of 11 a.m. Saturday. That’s been just since Christmas. Debbie Arrington
According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento and the surrounding areas can expect to get soaked, not only on New Year’s Eve but in the coming week. After a dry New Year’s Day, “likely rain” or “definite rain” is in the forecast for Sacramento on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Heading into New Year’s Eve, Sacramento already had 7.13 inches of rain (including 2.44 inches since Monday) with another inch or two expected to fall before the clock strikes midnight.
This December may feel like deja vu. We had a very wet December to wrap up 2021 with 6.98 inches of rain in downtown Sacramento; that’s double “normal” for this month. But after showers on Jan. 5, Sacramento saw its rain totals plummet with several very dry months.
To start 2023, the weather service predicts 2 to 3 inches of rain for Sacramento on top of 1 to 2 inches on Saturday.
Make the most of gaps between storms, but hold off on putting any seeds or plants into the ground – it’s too soggy! New transplants can rot. Wait until next week after these storms have passed.
* Prune, prune, prune. January is the right time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* This month also is the time to prune most deciduous fruit trees. (The exception is apricots, which are summer pruned.) Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.
* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
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Garden Checklist for week of May 18
Get outside early in the morning while temperatures are still cool – and get to work!
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to 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.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. Transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.
* Plant dahlia tubers.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Are birds picking your fruit off trees before it’s ripe? Try hanging strips of aluminum foil on tree branches. The shiny, dangling strips help deter birds from making themselves at home.
* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.
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