Sacramento's February weather outlook looks good for gardening
Thin winter sunshine highlights narcissus in bloom. We could have more dry days than wet this month. Kathy Morrison
After a very wet January, what can we expect in February?
Will our local groundhogs (OK, they’re ground squirrels) see their shadows on Thursday’s Groundhog Day? More important: After three years of drought, can we expect more rain?
Accuweather predicts a few other stormy days this month with the longest stretch of wet weather likely to be Feb. 20-23. Even then, rainfall totals are expected to be low.
That is unlikely to fulfill February’s average rainfall total. This month’s rainfall in non-drought years averages 3.63 inches – a major chunk of our annual total.
Our February days will be mild, predict the weather experts. Most of this month will be right around average – highs of 60 and lows of 42 – before warming into the high 60 by month’s end. But record temperatures (high of 76 degrees and low of 23) on either end of the scale are unlikely.
December and January storms have put plenty of moisture into our water bank. Downtown Sacramento totaled 9.52 inches in December and 7.54 in January; those two months almost surpassed our annual average of 17.6 inches.
Heavy Sierra snowpack looks like it will assure relatively good snow melt – and fuller reservoirs. Our drought isn’t over – yet – but we at least have a more positive water outlook for the hotter months to come.
Before turning on the sprinklers or irrigation system, check soil moisture; your landscape may not need watering. With these cooler temperatures, soil is slow to dry out, and plants may get too much water. Be on the lookout for crown rot.
Expect to see rapid growth sooner than later this month. Prompted by rain on the warmer side, daffodils and other bulbs have been quick into bloom. Newly pruned roses are sprouting shoots. Buds are already swelling on fruit trees.
This could be a good month to plant bare-root trees and shrubs, too. The same goes for perennials. They’ll put down roots quickly in that moist soil.
Afternoons in the high 60s are forecast for the last week of February, ending winter on a warm note. Maybe we’ll be in for an early spring, no matter what the groundhog’s shadow predicts.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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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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