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Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 16

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED DEC 15, 2018

Red chard and green chard make a festive combination. Transplant it now, along with lettuce, peas, greens and cabbage. If you don't have space in the garden, chard does very well a pot. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Colder weather cues dormancy -- and pruning time

After such a warm fall, the weather in these final days before winter may seem chilly and dank, but it's actually normal for December in Sacramento. This month averages 56-degree days and 38-degree nights, right around what we've been seeing.

These colder temperatures cue deciduous trees and shrubs to start thinking about taking a long nap. If they haven't already dropped their leaves, they will -- very soon.

That dormancy cues a round of early winter chores. Here's what to do in between storms:

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they're dormant.
* Prune deciduous fruit trees except apricots (they're pruned in August). Remove and dispose of any "mummy fruit" that clings to the branches; it's full of fungal disease.
* Spray peaches and nectarine trees with copper fungicide spray to prevent leaf curl. This treatment also helps fight brown rot and fire blight. It needs at least 24 hours of dry weather after spraying to be effective.
* Clean and sharpen garden tools before storing for the winter.
* Expecting company? Brighten the holiday garden with winter bloomers such as calendulas, Iceland poppies, pansies and primroses. They'll add instant color and instant cheer.
* It's not too late to transplant trees, shrubs and perennials.
* Transplant lettuce, cabbage, chard, peas and greens.
* Plant from seed radishes, beets, leaf lettuce, greens, peas and fava beans.
* Friday is the first day of winter. That's also the shortest day of the year, the traditional time to plant garlic and onions for harvest in summer.
* Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb. But beware of soggy soil. It can rot bare-root plants.

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Sacramento peach leaf curl tools dormant spray garden chores winter greens weather gardening holiday plants pruning annuals dormancy 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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