No surprise: Sacramento's ahead of average in seasonal precipitation
The rain is back, and is expected to be hanging around through the next week. Kathy Morrison
Happy New Year! (Don’t forget your umbrella!)
Sacramento ends one year and begins another on the soggy side as another atmospheric river will keep rain in our forecast for several days.
Think of it as not another rainy holiday but water in the bank for the New Year.
So far, Sacramento is well above average in terms of seasonal precipitation. Since the start of our current Water Year on Oct. 1, Sacramento has received more than 7 inches of rain. Normal for those three months: About 5.6 inches. That’s 25% above average.
More rain is on the way with another 2 inches (or more) expected from this current storm system.
According to the National Weather Service, “definite rain showers and thunderstorms” are in Sacramento’s forecast off and on through Tuesday, Jan. 6.
For weather updates: https://www.weather.gov/sto/.
The long-range forecast pegs January – usually one of Sacramento’s rainiest months – as having above-average precipitation. The weather service predicts 33 to 40% chances of more rain than normal for the next two weeks.
As for drought, the greater Sacramento area is squarely in “no drought” territory for this rainy season and foreseeable 2026.
This moisture can reinvigorate trees, shrubs and perennials that have coped with several recent drought years. It also makes this a good winter to consider adding such major plants to the landscape. (Just wait until soil dries out a little; soggy soil will rot roots.)
In fact, the best time to plant for a dry summer is a wet winter. This rain will help plants develop deep roots and get established much faster. It’s an excellent time to consider installing a water-wise landscape.
Need ideas? Check out the water-wise plant database and other resources at BeWaterSmart.info featuring more than 1,800 plants. Find photo galleries, suggested garden layouts and much more to help bring your garden resolutions to reality.
You’ll also find links to rebates for irrigation updates, lawn removal programs and other useful information.
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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
WINTER:
Jan. 20: Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Jan. 13: Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Jan. 6: Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Dec. 30: Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
Dec. 23: Is edible gardening possible indoors?
FALL
Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden
Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it
Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air
Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets
Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty
Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?
Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you
Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water
Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers
July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
July 15: Does this plant need water?
July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
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
WINTER
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 Jan. 18
Make the most of these rain-free breaks. Your garden needs you!
* 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.
* Plant bare-root roses and fruit trees.
* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladiolus for bloom from late spring into summer.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* 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, except cherry and apricot 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. Give them an acid-type fertilizer. But don’t fertilize your Japonica camellias until after they finish blooming next month. Doing that 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.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
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