Dig In: Garden checklist for week of May 18

Hang on to your hat; we’re in for a windy weekend – and possible fire danger.

The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for Sunday, May 18, lasting into Monday evening.

“A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly,” says the weather service. “A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.”

Along the I-5 corridor, Sacramento can expect north winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph. That’s coupled with humidity of only 15%.

“The combination of gusty winds and low humidity can cause fire to rapidly grow in size and intensity,” says the weather service. “Outdoor burning is not recommended.”

Watch out for sparks, such as hitting a rock with a lawnmower in dry grass.

Such conditions also can suck the moisture out of new transplants. Keep seedlings watered and soil evenly moist. Mulch is a must.

Those weekend winds will keep high temperatures in the low 80s – still warm for mid May. Then, Sacramento can expect a string of 90-degree days or hotter, peaking at 95 on Wednesday.

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.