Dig In: Garden checklist for week of Aug. 30

The vegetables may look a little ragged this late in the season -- and the air a

bit smoky, even in the morning -- but keep harvesting to prompt plants

to continue producing. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

August ends with hazy days before another heat wave

By Debbie Arrington

After unbearable conditions most of this month, the last few days of August feel (almost) comfortable.
Lingering wildfire smoke continues to keep our skies hazy (and air quality unhealthy for sensitive people). 

But a fog bank off the coast and some Delta breeze have kept high temperatures in the low 90s, average for late August. The haze lowered temperatures a degree or two, too.

Enjoy these low 90s while you can. The National Weather Service forecasts a string of triple-digit days starting Tuesday and lasting through Labor Day, with afternoon highs 10 to 15 degrees above normal.

Concentrate your garden chores on Sunday and Monday, then prepare for another heat wave.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing.
* Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers.
* Consider pulling unproductive or spent plants in the vegetable garden. Tomatoes won't set in triple-digit heat. Make room for fall planting.
* Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Divide and replant bearded irises.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Knock spider mites and their webs off plants with a blast of water. Do this in the morning for best results.
* Wash any accumulated ash from wildfires off leaves.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.