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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Sept. 29

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED SEP 28, 2019

Autumn Joy stonecrop ( Sedum spectabile 'Autumn Joy') is a sturdy perennial and a good choice for fall planting. The flower clusters start out pink, then age to a rosy russet in fall. This specimen grows in the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Fall is for planting -- so what are you waiting for?

You hear this motto often from Sacramento plant people: Fall is for planting.

Warm soil, cooler weather, maybe a little rain; conditions are ideal for putting new plants in the ground or moving things around.

It's no coincidence so many plant sales and gardening events are held during these first weeks of autumn. (Just check out our garden calendar .) And the weather is cooperating, too, with this week's high temperatures forecast in the 70s and 80s.

So, hit the dirt!

* October is the best month to plant perennials in our area. (The last weekend of September works, too.) Add a little well-aged compost and bone meal (or rock phosphate) to the planting hole, but hold off on other fertilizers until spring. Keep the transplants well-watered, but not wet, for the first month as they become settled.
* This is an ideal time to plant trees and shrubs. Follow the same advice as perennials.
* Now is the time to plant seeds for many flowers directly into the garden, including cornflower, nasturtium, nigella, poppy, portulaca, sweet pea and stock.
* In the vegetable garden, plant seeds for radishes, bok choy, mustard, spinach and peas. Plant garlic and onions.
* Set out cool-weather bedding plants, including calendula, pansy, snapdragon, primrose and viola.
* Dig up corms and tubers of gladioluses, dahlias and tuberous begonias after the foliage dies. Clean and store in a cool, dry place.
* Treat azaleas, gardenias and camellias with chelated iron if leaves are yellowing between the veins.
* Clean up the summer vegetable garden and compost disease-free foliage.
* Harvest pumpkins and winter squash.

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CHECKLIST FOR THE WEEK

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cool-weather annuals seeds Sacramento garden chores corms fall gardening squash fall planting gardening pumpkins chelated iron cool-weather vegetables checklist perennials

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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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