“Fall Is For Planting” was a novel marketing suggestion years ago by nurseries that wanted to encourage gardeners to continue buying vegetables and flowers and shrubs and trees and houseplants through the coolness of the Fall and Winter and Early Spring seasons.
     For Southern California gardeners, this has always been a no-brainer, at least on the coast and lowlands.  Arousing ourselves after the exhaustive summer growing season, the still-warmish days and barely-coolish evenings make for even more successful growing conditions. 
​     My Mom used to sow lettuce seeds every week throughout the year, and the Fall-through-Spring harvests were always the most tasty and vibrant. 
     As we progress into the even cooler soil and air conditions of Winter, plants will grow more slowly, so it’s important that our sowings and transplantings now through Thanksgiving are plentiful and established well enough to provide sufficient harvests through Spring when we’ll concentrate on warm-season lovers.
     Here’s what I’ll be sowing, in case you’d like to join me in enjoying these particular varieties. Some are old standbys, and some are new for me this time around.  I’ve specified my source for some; varieties without a source are generally available.
 
Artichoke
Globe, Monticello
 
Beet
Early Wonder Tall Top
Little Queen
Ruby Queen
 
Broccoli
Romanesco, Gourmet
 
Carrot
Baby, Gourmet
Danvers Half Long
Little Finger
Scarlet Nantes
Tendersweet
 
Cilantro
 
Kohlrabi
Purple Vienna
White Vienna
 
Leaf Brassicas:  Bok Choy, Kale, Tatsoi
Baby Pak Choi, Peaceful
Bok Choy Purple Lady, Baker
Chinese Broccoli Kailaan, Botanical
Chinese Kale
Gai Lohn, Gourmet
Green Glaze Collards
Komatsuna Spinach Mustard, Baker
Lacinato Kale
Tatsoi, Peaceful
 
Leek
Geant D’Hiver, Gourmet
Large American Flag, Gourmet
Long Mezier, Gourmet
 
Lettuce
Bibb
Black Seeded Simpson
Brown Dutch, Monticello
Buttercrunch
Ciucca, Franchi
Cosmic Crimson Mix, Baker
Freckles, Peaceful
May Queen, Baker
Passion Brune, Franchi
Quattro Stagioni, Franchi
Red Riding Butterhead, Sweet
Red Salad Bowl
Rossa Di Trento, Franchi
Sanguine Ameliore, Baker
Spotted Aleppo, Monticello
Tennis Ball, Baker
Tom Thumb, Baker
Valentine, Botanical
 
Parsley
Italian Flat Leaf
 
Peas, Edible Flat Pod
Oregon Sugar Pod II
 
Peas, Edible Full Pod
Amish Snap, Seed
Cascadia
Dwarf Sugar Grey, Gourmet
Mangetout Carouby, Gourmet
Royal II Sugar Snap, Johnny’s
Sugar Ann
Super Sugar Snap
 
Peas, Shelling
Alaska, Ferry
Frosty, Lake
Green Arrow, Botanical
Kelvedon Wonder, Baker
King Tut Purple, Baker
Laxton’s Progress #9, Baker
Lincoln, Baker
Little Marvel, Baker
Pisello Messa Rama Rondo, Franchi
Pisello Nano Piccolo Provenzale, Franchi
Pisello Rampicante Telefono, Franchi
Serpette, Gourmet
Wando
 
Spinach
Bloomsdale Longstanding
 
Swiss Chard
Fordhook Giant
Heirloom Rainbow
Neon Lights Blend, Burpee
 
SOURCES
Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, https://www.rareseeds.com/

Botanical Interests, https://www.botanicalinterests.com/

Burpee, https://www.burpee.com/

Ferry-Morse, https://ferrymorse.com/

Franchi Seeds From Italy,  https://www.growitalian.com/

Johnny’s Selected Seeds, https://www.johnnyseeds.com/

Lake Valley Seed, https://lakevalleyseed.com/

Le Jardin du Gourmet / Artistic Gardens, https://www.artisticgardens.com/

Monticello Garden Seeds, https://www.monticelloshop.org/garden/

Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, https://www.groworganic.com/

Seed Savers Exchange, https://www.seedsavers.org/

​
For more garden tasks, see November

     Cleaning our air is accomplished by every plant in the garden and home.  Plants clean the air we breathe by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, they increase humidity by transpiring water vapor through microscopic leaf pores, and they absorb pollutants on leaves and in the plant root-soil system.
 
Plant Foliage
     Through the process of photosynthesis, plant leaves absorb chemicals, bacteria, or harmful elements floating on the breeze, which they then filter into useful waste products like water and oxygen – “waste” products that we humans thrive upon.  That benefits us because we take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide.  So we’re a perfect match:  When we talk to our plants, we expel the carbon dioxide that they need, and in return, they absorb our carbon dioxide and expel the oxygen that we need. Our respiration provides what they need, and their respiration provides what we need.
     Some of the best plants for cleaner air according to some studies and other sources include:

• Aloe Vera
• Areca Palm
• Anthurium
• Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)
• Banana Tree
• Birds’ Nest Fern (Asplenium antiquum)
• Butterfly Palm
• Boston Fern
• Sword fern
• Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum)
• Pot Mum (Chrysanthemum morifolium)
• Dieffenbachia
• Dragon Tree ‘Janet Craig’ (Dracaena fragrans ‘Janet Craig’)
• Dragon Tree ‘Marginata’ (Dracaena marginata)
• Corn Plant (Dracaena fragrans ‘Massangeana’)
• English Ivy (Hedera helix)
• Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)
• Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
• Lady Palm
• Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides)
• Mother-in-law's Tongue (Sansevieria laurentii)
• Orchid
• Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum "Mauna Loa")
• Philodendron
• Rubber Plant
• Snake Plant (Sansevieria fischeri, masoniana, trifasciata)
• Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
• Weeping Fig (Ficus)

 
Which is the best single plant?
       Chrysanthemum, especially in bloom.
 
How many plants in a room?
     Two “good sized” plants in a room of 100 square feet.  But a whole nursery-full would be even more enjoyable!
 
Plant Roots
     Plant roots also help to take in any errant chemicals or heavy metals that might be lurking in your soil.  This process is called phytoremediation.  The roots then “lock up” those toxins, and the plants can then be burned. The resulting ash is light, small, and easy to store.  Some effective plants include alfalfa, corn, Date palms, mustard greens, sunflowers, poplar and willow trees, and water ferns and water hyacinths.