October blows out with windy weekend before pleasant planting weather to start November
'Green Wave' mustard is a pretty addition to the winter vegetable garden -- it's productive and frost-hardy. But cabbage moths like to lay their eggs on brassicas, which include mustard, so it's best protected with a row cover. Kathy Morrison
October is going out with a blast. Strong gusty winds are expected to blow through the Central Valley this last October weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Tie down those Halloween decorations or your goblins could fly away.
“Gusty north to east winds are expected this weekend,” tweeted the NWS Sacramento office on Saturday. “Be sure to secure any loose outdoor items such as decorations, avoid outdoor burning, and use caution when driving in/around high profile vehicles!”
Coupled with low humidity, these strong winds create “critical fire danger,” says the weather service. A “red flag warning” is in effect through at least 5 p.m. Sunday. Sacramento can expect winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts of 30 to 40 mph with relative humidity dropping to 10% in the afternoon.
After this windy weekend, Sacramento will settle down into a pleasant pattern of highs in the low 70s and overnight lows in the high 40s. Halloween Tuesday will be dry with a high of 71. Temperatures will stay comfortably in the 60s until after 8 p.m., so trick-or-treaters shouldn’t need heavy coats.
This weather also is a treat for gardeners. Make the most of it; finish planting your cool-season garden.
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Plant bulbs for spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Now is the time to plant seeds for many flowers directly into the garden, including cornflower, nasturtium, nigella, poppy, portulaca, sweet pea, sweet alyssum, bachelor buttons and stock.
* Plant seeds for radishes, bok choy, mustard, spinach and peas.
* Set out cool-weather bedding plants, including calendula, pansy, snapdragon, primrose and viola.
* Reseed and feed the lawn. Work on bare spots.
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Garden Checklist for week of July 21
Your garden needs you!
* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.
* Feed vegetable plants bone meal, rock phosphate or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting. (But wait until daily high temperatures drop out of the 100s.)
* Don’t let tomatoes wilt or dry out completely. Give tomatoes a deep watering two to three times a week.
* Harvest vegetables promptly to encourage plants to produce more. Squash especially tends to grow rapidly in hot weather. Keep an eye on zucchini.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.
* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers as they finish flowering.
* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.
* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.
* It's not too late to add a splash of color. Plant petunias, snapdragons, zinnias and marigolds.
* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers.
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