Dig In: Garden checklist for week of April 13
Got tomatoes? Time to start transplanting them into the ground – or at least into larger pots.
Northern California has settled into a warmer-than-usual weather pattern with plenty of sun and above-average temperatures expected for the next several days.
According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can expect afternoon highs above 80 degrees Sunday through Tuesday. Temperatures drop slightly the rest of the week, but not much; Friday’s forecast high is 79. Average high for this week in Sacramento: 71 degrees.
Importantly, overnight lows will be warm, too, with most nights comfortably in the mid 50s. That’s also significantly warmer than average (46 degrees).
That combination or warm days and nights will help warm soil; that makes all the difference for tomato transplant success.
Remember to water your seedlings; while there’s plenty of sun in the forecast, no rain is in sight.
Enjoy this spring weather – and get to work! Your garden needs you!
* Start setting out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes, and winter and summer 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.
* Plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.
* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.
* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.
* 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.
* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants go to seed.
