Clear and cool conditions expected after Saturday's soaking
The ripening mandarins and the rest of the garden were getting a good soaking Saturday, but the weather is expected to be drier during Thanksgiving week. Kathy Morrison
Don’t worry; our Thanksgiving Day shouldn’t be soggy.
Saturday’s stormy start to our weekend will blow over quickly, says the National Weather Service. Strong, gusty winds will push out those thunder clouds by late Saturday night. But Monday, we’ll settle into a cool and calm pattern typical of mid to late November.
This looks like a good week to spray your peach trees. (Ideally, do it at least twice during the fall/winter: around Thanksgiving -- assuming the tree has dropped its leaves -- and again at bud swell just before the buds begin to open. That is usually around Valentine's Day, although can be early in warmer. drier winters.)
According to the weather service, Sacramento can expect about a half inch of rain from Saturday’s storm. That’s enough to turn off your irrigation system until at least the end of the week. Check your soil moisture, particularly in sheltered locations such as under eaves or large evergreen trees where rain didn’t reach.
Temperature-wise, Sacramento will be just about normal for November. Highs this week will hover in the mid 60s. Overnight lows will dip into the low 40s. Average for this month in Sacramento: High of 64 and low of 43.
No rain is in Thursday’s forecast – good news for Thanksgiving travel plans. The weather service says expect sun, a slight breeze and a high of 65.
Make the most of this week’s calm fall weather and damp soil. Get out and garden! (It’s a great way to burn calories after a big meal.)
* The weather conditions later this week look ideal for spraying dormant fruit trees. For sprays to be effective, they need at least 24 hours to dry.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective when applied in late fall.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material (such as peach leaves infected with leaf curl).
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* After they bloom, chrysanthemums should be trimmed to 6 to 8 inches above the ground. If in pots, keep the mums in their containers until next spring. Then, they can be planted in the ground, if desired, or repotted.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* Plant more bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* Seed California poppies and other wildflowers.
* Plant sweet peas, sweet alyssum, bachelor buttons and other spring-blooming annuals.
* 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.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
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Garden Checklist for week of Jan. 19
Dress warmly in layers – and get to work:
* Apply horticultural oil to fruit trees to control scale, mites and aphids. Oils need 24 hours of dry weather after application to be effective.
* This is also the time to spray a copper-based oil to peach and nectarine trees to fight leaf curl. The safest effective fungicides available for backyard trees are copper soap -- aka copper octanoate -- or copper ammonium, a fixed copper fungicide. Apply either of these copper products with 1% horticultural oil to increase effectiveness.
* 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. (The exceptions are apricot and cherry trees, which are susceptible to a fungus that causes dieback if pruned now. Save those until summer.)
* 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.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* When forced bulbs sprout, move them to a cool, bright window. Give them a quarter turn each day so the stems will grow straight.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs.
* 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 gladioli for bloom from late spring into summer.
* Plant blooming azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. If you’re shopping for these beautiful landscape plants, you can now find them in full flower at local nurseries.
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