Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Feb. 8

Change is in the air – and this week’s forecast.

According to the National Weather Service, Northern California can expect an “unsettled weather pattern” starting Sunday with cooler temperatures, mountain snow and valley rain showers.

How much rain? That’s still in flux. Only light rain is expected early in the week with the chance of more serious storms as the week progresses. The current forecast for Valentine’s Day (Saturday, Feb. 14) looks pretty soggy.

In fact, we may be headed into a wet stretch. As of Saturday (Feb. 7), the weather service pegs the next 14 days in NorCal with a 60 to 70% chance of “above normal” precipitation. February rain in Sacramento averages 3.59 inches.

Meanwhile, expect drizzle on Tuesday and Wednesday, a break on Thursday and more serious rain Friday. But so far, the forecast calls for only .25 inches in Sacramento before next weekend – when the real rain is expected to arrive.

Enjoy a comparatively warm and dry Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 8) with a forecast high of 67 degrees in Sacramento. As for the rest of the week, we’ll be hovering around normal with highs in the upper 50s or low 60s. Average high temperature for early February in Sacramento: 60 degrees. Overnight lows will stay in the 40s with no frost danger.

Dodge those raindrops and get things done! Your garden needs you.

* Before the rain arrives, keep new transplants and seedlings irrigated.

* Start your spring (and summer) garden. Transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.

* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots. Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).

* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.

* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions. Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.

* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.

* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.

* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.

* This is the last chance to spray fruit trees before they bloom. Treat peach and nectarine trees with copper-based fungicide. Spray apricot trees at bud swell to prevent brown rot. Apply horticultural oil to control scale, mites and aphids on fruit trees soon after a rain. But remember: Oils need at least 24 hours to dry to be effective. Don’t spray during foggy weather or when rain is forecast.

* Feed spring-blooming shrubs and fall-planted perennials with slow-release fertilizer. Feed mature trees and shrubs after spring growth starts.

* Remove aphids from blooming bulbs with a strong spray of water or insecticidal soap.

* Fertilize strawberries and asparagus.