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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of June 14

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUN 13, 2020

Transplant coneflowers now for blooms all summer. Pollinators love them, too. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

Make most of mild weather; heat coming again soon

Enjoy this brief cool down; more heat is on the way.

According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento temperatures will swing wildly again this week with at least a 20-degree difference between this weekend and midweek. After a breezy day in the mid-70s on Saturday, Sunday will be just about "normal" for June with a high forecast of 88 degrees. Sacramento's average June high is 87.

Monday and Tuesday will hover around 90 degrees before the breeze disappears and the furnace switches back on. Forecast for the rest of the week is "sunny and hot," with highs of 97 degrees or above.

So, if you have something that needs attention in your garden, do it now before the heat creeps back up.

Here are some suggestions:
* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.
* Weed, weed, weed! Bindweed, nutsedge and other unwanted invaders love the heat and are growing rapidly now. Pull them before they go to seed.
* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.
* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.
* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.
* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.
* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.
* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

June is the perfect time to plant zinnias.

*Deep-water tomatoes, peppers and squash, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal or rock phosphate can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.
* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* From seed, plant basil, beans, corn, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

June is the perfect time to plant zinnias.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.
* Transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

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Garden Checklist for week of May 5

Survey your garden after the May 4 rainstorm. Heavy rain and gusty winds can break the neck of large flowers such as roses. Also:

* Keep an eye on new transplants or seedlings; they could take a pounding from the rain.

* Watch out for powdery mildew. Warmth following moist conditions can cause this fungal disease to “bloom,” too. If you see a leaf that looks like it’s dusted with powdered sugar, snip it off.

* After the storm, start setting out tomato transplants, but wait on the peppers and eggplants (they want warmer nights). Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Don’t wait; plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

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