Spring warm-up means one thing: Time to plant tomatoes
OK, who's ready to plant? It's finally warm enough to put those tomatoes you've been nurturing in their summer locations, whether in ground, a raised bed or spacious containers.
Kathy Morrison
Happy Earth Day! Mother Nature’s gift to us? Some much needed warmth and abundant sunshine.
In other words, it’s finally tomato planting time!
According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can expect several days in the 80s.
“Warm weather will continue for at least the next week across interior #NorCal with high temperatures forecast to remain above average,” tweeted the NWS Sacramento office on Saturday morning.
After mostly below-average temperatures, April is finally warming up – a lot. Normal high for this week: 72 degrees. Instead, we’ll see highs in the mid 80s, peaking at 87 on Thursday.
Just as important for young transplants, overnight lows are warming, too. Temperatures shouldn’t get below 50 all week. That will help heat soil – necessary for root development.
So, break out the trowel and get planting!
* Start setting out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.
* With all this warmth, soil can dry out quickly. Make sure to keep transplants watered and newly planted seedbeds moist.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, 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.
* Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.
* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat.
* 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 lawn.
* Foliage on azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? Give them a boost with chelated iron.
* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips.
* Remember to weed before those unwanted plants start to flower.
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For week of June 4:
Because of the comfortable weather, it’s not too late to set out tomato and pepper seedlings as well as squash and melon plants. They’ll appreciate this not-too-hot weather. Just remember to water.
* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, melons, 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.
* Let the grass grow longer. 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.
* 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.
* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.
* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.
* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants.
* 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.
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