Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 28

After a very soggy Christmas, Sacramento finally gets a few days to dry out, sort of.

Widespread areas of fog are expected to hang around through the weekend, keeping our air and soil feeling moist.

According to the National Weather Service, downtown Sacramento received about 2 inches of rain from the Christmas week atmospheric river. Some nearby communities such as Elk Grove and Roseville got more than 3 inches. Several foothill communities topped 5 inches.

Importantly for our overall water picture, the Sierra received several feet of snow; that’s water in the bank for next summer’s needs.

Before more rain arrives (maybe as soon as Thursday, New Year’s Day), Sacramento will see a return of foggy mornings (and days) starting Sunday, says the weather service.

As we saw earlier this month, fog will keep temperatures down; highs of 48 degrees and lows of 37 are predicted for both Sunday and Monday. Some sun is expected to break through the clouds Tuesday, but don’t expect much warmth. The highest high of the week – 50 degrees – is expected Tuesday afternoon.

New Year’s Day could be rainy, says the weather service, but nothing like Christmas. The forecast calls for a 55% percent chance of precipitation on Jan. 1 and 2, but only a 1/4-inch two-day total.

That’s still enough to keep the sprinklers off and let the landscape soak in accumulated water.

Temperature wise, New Year’s starts off stuck in the 40s with a predicted high of 49 and low of 43. Normal for the first week of January in Sacramento: high of 54 and low of 39.

Make the most of non-rainy days; your garden needs you!

* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.

* Now is the time to prune fruit trees. Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.

* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.

* Prune Christmas camellias (Camellia sasanqua), the early-flowering varieties, after their bloom. They don’t need much, but selective pruning can promote bushiness, upright growth and more bloom next winter. Feed with an acid-type fertilizer. But don’t feed your Japonica camellias until after they finish blooming next month. Feeding while camellias are in bloom may cause them to drop unopened buds.

* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.

* Browse seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.

* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.

* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.

* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.

* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.

* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.

* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladiolus for bloom from late spring into summer.