Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Nov. 16

Prepare to stay wet. Another atmospheric river is headed our way.

According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can expect showers, thunderstorms or rain of some kind almost every day this coming week. The only dry window is Tuesday, Nov. 18. But by late Wednesday, the drizzle will start again. (Friday is iffy.)

So far, the weather service has been fairly accurate with its estimations. Last week’s storm was predicted to deliver 1.2 inches to Sacramento; it dropped 1.4 inches.

As of 2 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 14), the weather service forecast 2.2 inches for Sacramento to fall (pretty steadily) between Saturday night and Monday evening. That would bring our November total up to almost 4 inches.

After that brief break, Tuesday should be sunny but chilly. The high is forecast for 58 degrees with an overnight low of 44. That chill will finish off a lot of tomato and pepper plants.

Round 2 of our storms arrives Wednesday sometime after 4 p.m. Compared to the river that flowed through in Round 1, this rain will seem like a trickle – about 0.6 of an inch total over two days. In the current forecast, Friday also looks dry.

With so much early-season rain, expect to learn a lot about your landscape.

Water will pond in low spots. Keep an eye on newly planted landscapes; their soil and mulch can slide with too much runoff. Stabilize plants as needed.

Meanwhile, keep the sprinklers off this week (and maybe next week, too); your landscape should already be well hydrated if not over-saturated.

When working outdoors, be careful of soggy soil; it can compact easily. Don’t plant in saturated soil; it can rot transplants. Give the soil a day or two to drain, add organic amendments (such as well-aged compost) to improve drainage, and then plant.

This dramatic weather change has prompted massive leaf drop (and quite a bit of fruit drop, too). Take care of fallen leaves and other debris on sidewalks and in gutters during breaks between showers.

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

During breaks in the weather, tackle some garden tasks:

* Clear gutters and storm drains.

* Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* After the storm, 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.

* 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 them. Do leave some (healthy) leaves in the planting beds for wildlife and beneficial insect habitat.

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

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.