Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Nov. 9

Feel that sun? Enjoy it now. By week’s end, these pleasant summery days will be only a memory (or lost opportunity) as wintry weather moves into our area.

According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can expect “definite rain showers” by dawn Thursday morning, Nov. 13, with possible rain arriving as early as late afternoon Wednesday. That rain will stick around through at least Friday, accompanied by strong gusty winds.

We’re expected to get drenched. The weather service predicts Sacramento will receive almost 1.2 inches of rain between 4 p.m. Wednesday and midnight Friday. Turn off the sprinklers!

Before the rain arrives, we’ll enjoy a few more days of warmer than average temperatures with afternoons in the mid 70s – about 10 degrees above normal. Friday’s predicted high is only 61 degrees.

These colder, wetter and windier conditions are sure to bring down tons of leaves (literally). Take care of fallen leaves during this break before the next storm.

For weather updates: https://www.weather.gov/sto/

Good news: The Claw is back! For gardeners in the City of Sacramento, leaf season has officially returned. That means street pick-up of green waste, now through Feb. 1. For full details and a street pick-up collection calendar: https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/public-works/recycling-solid-waste/Collectionservices/Leaf_Season

As they say, make hay while the sun shines!

* Sweep leaves out of gutters and clear drains.

* Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* 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.

* This also is a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Plant bulbs at two week intervals to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. 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 need time to “set” so apply at least 24 hours before rain. For best results, spray three times during winter, about six weeks apart, until bud break.