Dig In: Garden checklist for week of June 1

May ended with two red-hot days, befitting a month that saw warmer than average temperatures.

According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento saw a record 102 degrees on Friday, May 30. Saturday also was expected to flirt with a record 105 degrees for the last day in May.

Although those are the first triple-digit days of 2025, the whole month has been warmer than average, says the weather service. May highs in Sacramento averaged 84.5 degrees – a full four degrees above normal for the month.

We’ll be back in the 80s – albeit briefly – for the start of June. Sunday’s high is expected to be “only” 86 degrees – almost a 20-degree drop from late May’s heat spike but close to normal. June in Sacramento averages highs of 87 degrees.

Low 90s are forecast for the remainder of this first week of June – above normal, but not so hot to cause issues with tomato set. (Tomato pollen dries out when temperatures hit above 95 degrees.)

Thankfully, mornings will be blissfully cool; we’ll be comfortably in the 60s before 10 a.m. each day.

Get out in the garden early and enjoy that pleasant coolness. More triple-digit days will be coming soon.

* It’s not too late to set out tomato, peppers and eggplant transplants. Remember to water.

* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, melons, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.

* 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.

* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.

* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. That can encourage blossom-end rot

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* 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.