After atmospheric river, we'll have some chilly nights
Keep an eye on or cover new transplants as temperatures drop into the 30s overnight the next few days. Bok choy like this one generally can handle light frost. Kathy Morrison
Put away the umbrella and dig out the frost cloths; we’re about to have another change in the weather.
Our pre-Thanksgiving atmospheric river gave Sacramento a nice, deep soaking. It also caught us up with our seasonal rainfall totals, getting our current Water Year off to a healthy start.
Could this be the third consecutive winter with “normal” or above-average precipitation? So far, so wet.
According to the National Weather Service, downtown Sacramento received 2.72 inches Wednesday through Monday, Nov. 20-25. That includes 1.96 inches on Friday, Nov. 22.
That brings November’s total to 3.38 inches – more than 2 inches above average for those 25 days. It also more than makes up for a mostly dry October, which starts our Water Year. So far, Sacramento rain has measured 3.63 inches since Oct. 1; normal for that period is 2.11 inches.
That deep soaking took care of our gardens’ immediate water needs. Turn off the sprinklers or other irrigation for at least a week, if not more. Check soil moisture before resuming watering.
After some scattered showers on Tuesday, Sacramento looks dry and clear through the rest of this month (which ends on Saturday). The next challenge: Frost.
The weather service says to expect patchy frost in the early morning hours on Thanksgiving Thursday as well as Friday and Saturday. Overnight lows will flirt with freezing; Sacramento will dip down to at least 35 degrees all three nights.
Damp soil will keep most sensitive plants just warm enough to prevent frost damage. But new transplants and tropicals will be susceptible. Take frost precautions. Cover tender plants in the late afternoon (before the sun goes down) and remember to remove covers in the morning.
With sunny skies, that chill will dissipate quickly during the day – which makes this coming long weekend good for planting and other garden jobs.
For more weather updates: https://www.weather.gov/sto/
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Food in My Back Yard Series
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
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 June 29
We're into our typical summer weather pattern now. Get chores, especially watering, done early in the morning while it's cool.
* It’s not too late to add a splash of color. Plant petunias, snapdragons, zinnias and marigolds.
* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers. Plant Halloween pumpkins now.
* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.
* Water, then fertilize vegetables and blooming annuals, perennials and shrubs to give them a boost. Feeding flowering plants every other week will extend their bloom.
* Don’t let tomato plants wilt or dry out completely. Give tomatoes a deep watering two to three times a week.
* Harvest vegetables promptly to encourage plants to produce more. Squash especially tends to grow rapidly in hot weather. Keep an eye on zucchini.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.
* Harvest tomatoes, squash, peppers and eggplant. Prompt picking will help keep plants producing.
* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers as they finish flowering.
* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.
* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.
* Give vegetable plants bone meal or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting.
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