Dig In: Garden checklist for week of June 23

Cut back fruit-bearing canes after berry harvest. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Get busy outdoors during mild days ahead

By Debbie Arrington

It's time to dive into summer gardening. Take advantage of cooler weather later this week to get things done.

This first summer weekend will feel like many weekends to come: Hot and a little sticky. According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento will see highs in the mid 90s on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. 

But then we'll slip into several days in the low 80s: Perfect summer gardening weather. A little TLC now will pay off in weeks and months to come.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.
* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.
* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries after harvest.
* Pick up fallen fruit and discard if unusable.
* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.
* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer. Water before and after application.
* Deep-water tomatoes, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.
* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.
* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

Coneflowers add some bright color to the summer garden. Now is a good

time to transplant these and other flowering perennials. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, melons, beans, squash and sunflowers.
* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.
* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.