Dig In: Garden checklist for week of May 17
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Depending on how ripe they are and how intense the rain is, cherries may be damaged in the coming rainstorm. (Photos: Kathy Morrison) |
Expect a soggy break in warm spring weather
Be ready for anything. That’s got to be the motto for 2020 and applies (among many things) to our May weather.
For May 16-18, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning with snow in the passes. Here in the Valley, we’re about to get soaked.
From Saturday night to Tuesday evening, Sacramento is expected to receive between 1/2 and 1 inch of rain. The foothills and areas north of Sacramento will be wetter; the forecast for Grass Valley is 2 to 3 inches. Thunderstorms and windy conditions will be part of this wild weather mix, too.
Don’t forget to turn off the sprinklers.
Sacramento’s average monthly rainfall for May is less than 3/4 inch; we may get all of that in this one storm. After this cold front heads east, temperatures will return to the lows 80s — normal for mid-May.
Put off transplanting seedlings until after the storm. They could be damaged by too much wind and rain while also coping with root shock.
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Add some coneflowers to the garden for color — and for beneficial insects and pollinators. |
Meanwhile, concentrate on maintenance and a little garden TLC.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Also watch out for fungal diseases such as powdery mildew and rust. Remove and dispose of infected leaves.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.
* After the storm, there will still be time to plant tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
* Keep an eye on fast-developing fruit. Cherries may be damaged by this storm system.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.
* Plant dahlia tubers.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
