Dig In: Garden checklist for week of May 2

With this stretch of above-normal temperatures, tomato plants and other summer

vegetables will take off. Mulch helps keep the soil from drying out too fast. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Warm weather heats soil, too; plant those tomatoes!

By Debbie Arrington

Tomato weather is here! May starts out feeling like summer. According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento can expect at least three days in the low 90s before a welcome cool down to 78 degrees Friday.

What’s normal for May? Sacramento averages highs of 80 degrees and lows of 51 this month.

Our streak of above-normal temperatures continues after dark, too. Overnight lows are solidly in the 50s, edging up to 60 degrees by midweek. Those evening temperatures will steadily warm soil – ideal for planting summer seedlings.

So, get those tomato transplants in the ground along with peppers, eggplants, squash, cucumbers and other heat-loving favorites.

* Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers.

* Transplant petunias and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.