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 Feb. 2
During this stormy week, let the rain soak in while making plans for all the things you’re going to plant soon:
* During rainy weather, turn off the sprinklers. After a good soaking from winter storms, lawns can go at least a week without sprinklers, according to irrigation experts. For an average California home, that week off from watering can save 800 gallons.
* February serves as a wake-up call to gardeners. This month, you can 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.