Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Dec. 14

Brrrrrr! Sacramento’s streak of foggy days (and nights) continues through this weekend. But according to the National Weather Service, change is in the misty air.

Mid-week rain is on its way, says the weather service. How much and exactly when it will arrive is still to be determined.

Before those first December showers, keep your sweater (and gloves and muffler) handy. This weekend’s forecast calls for more fog Saturday and Sunday with temperatures barely budging day or night. The Sacramento forecast expects “highs” of 44 both days with lows between 40 and 42. Normal for this week: Highs of 58 and low of 39.

This constant fog bank and chilly inversion layer of low clouds will stretch Sacramento’s string of 40-something days to (at least) 10. Monday’s expected high is an optimistic 50 degrees.

Only two things will move this fog out of the Valley – strong wind or rain. The latter is expected to arrive Tuesday afternoon. Off and on showers are predicted to stick around at least until Friday.

The weather service expects the rain to be mostly light, totaling about ½ inch over four days. But that precipitation should disperse the constant fog.

With the rain will come higher temperatures, too. Wednesday’s expected high is 61 degrees.

There should be some partly sunny breaks between rain clouds, especially Thursday.

Make the most of those opportunities and show your garden some TLC.

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

* Brighten the holidays with winter bloomers such as poinsettias, amaryllis, calendulas, Iceland poppies, pansies and primroses.

* Keep poinsettias in a sunny, warm location. Water thoroughly. After the holidays, feed your plants monthly so they’ll bloom again next December.

* Rake and remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials.

* Rake and compost leaves from trees, 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.

* Clear gutters and storm drains.

* Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

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

* Seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

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

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

* Plant garlic and onions.

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

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they’re dormant.

* Clean and sharpen garden tools before storing for the winter.

* Bare-root season begins. Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb.