It seems so incongruous, having days getting shorter now that we’ve past the summer solstice, but of course the hotter weather does make sense since the calendar says it’s officially now summer.  I did thoroughly enjoy the vvvvvveeeeeeerrrrrrryyyyyyyy lllllllooooooooooooonnnnnnggggg spring we had, with its cool overcast overnights mostly in the 60s-degree range and infrequently getting into the 80s-degree range once the sun burned through the mist.  I loved the long lettuce- and carrot- and greens- and parsley- and cilantro- harvesting season – truly, that’s why I more appreciate cool-weather gardening since we get lots of food but the plants don’t have to struggle to survive much less thrive like they do during hot weather.
 
Loving Those Hot-Weather Lovers
     On the other hand, tomatoes and squash and cukes and peppers and beans are year-round must-haves in my kitchen, so I want to nurture them in my garden as early and as late in the off-seasons as I can manage.  And consequently I’m delighted to now have well-established tomato plants from the first-planted batch with lots of fruits and blossoms already set to promise future yumminess.  Even the volunteer bean plants are producing lots of tender filet beans ahead of everything else.

Having Troubles With Your Tomatoes?
See these previous blog articles:

• Tomato Growing Problems & Solutions - 6/17/20
• Why NOT to Prune Tomato Plants - 7/13/15

    
Saving Seeds of Bolting Lettuce
     I’m continuing to water my lettuce plants from which to harvest the seeds for sowing into my fall garden.  Although it seems contradictory, I want to continue watering to keep the plants absorbing nutrients and maturing completely to produce healthy dry seeds. 
     This is the one time that I have my grocery purchases packed in paper bags instead of my reusable cloth ones, because I need to use the paper ones on my bolted lettuce plants.  Once the seeds have set and the plant foliage begins to dry and shrivel, I tie the paper bag over the head of the lettuce plant.  This corrals the seeds as they dry to crispiness, rather than scattering themselves throughout the garden.  (Of course, there will always be a few excapees who’ll germinate in that bed later on.)
     Using paper instead of plastic bags is critical because the paper allows the lettuce plant foliage to dry out until it’s completely crispy -- the stalk must easily and quickly snap apart. If it still wiggles instead of snapping, it isn’t dry enough.  Any moisture left in the stalk or seedhead may spoil all the seed in the bag as it’s stored until use later on.   
     Store the bags as they are, or smash them down to loosen the seeds from the dry foliage, and place them in a dry dark place until you’re ready to sow them in the fall.
     Sowing in the fall is easily done because you don’t have to separate the seeds from the dry foliage.  Just grab a small handful of the smashed foliage and scatter onto prepared soil in your garden bed or pots.  Try to equally scatter all of the dried foliage over all of the soil or mix, since you never really know which handfuls have seeds and which are mostly dry foliage.  Then sprinkle water onto the bed to gently wet all of the foliage and seeds in place.  The dried foliage acts as a bit of mulch to help keep the seeds in contact with the soil, and to retain the bit of moisture from evaporating.  Sprinkle again twice a day for a week or so to keep the bed surface moist for better germination.  By that time, many seeds will have germinated, so cut watering to about once a week just to keep soil barely moist.

For more monthly tasks, see July.
 
For more main-topic blogs from past years, see Homepage.

     For the first time in years – since the advent of the drought almost a decade ago – I’ve planted a second batch of tomato plants at the end of May.  This used to be my general practice, planting a first batch when 4” containers first appeared in nurseries in February and March; and then another batch in May when the first-batch plants were reaching the second rung on their cages, about 24 inches, beginning to blossom, and just fertilized.
     Until then, I’d kept nipping off any blossoms that appeared earlier so each plant’s energy could focus on establishing a strong root system rather than beginning to expend energy in setting and maturing fruit.
     So after all these recent weeks of gloomy overcast with pleasant mid-70s daytime temperatures and low-60s nighttime temperatures, it finally occurred to me to get another batch of tomato plants growing to guarantee my late-summer harvest after the first-batch plants had quit bearing -- except for the cherry tomatoes, which as indeterminant varieties should continue bearing through at least fall.
   Of course, this new planting will face its own challenges, beginning with a bit of a heat wave this week and daytime temperatures in the upper 80s, although continuing with the soothing morning fog and nighttime temperatures in the low 60s.
      We’ll see how the magic works this time around.
 
Old and New Chard and Kale
     I’d finally pulled the old purple and green chard plants that we’d been eating from since last fall but were now producing only tiny leaves and 6-foot seed stalks.  They’ve gone on to their next life, enrichening the compost pile. 
    I’m now harvesting from the hugely lush new plants in salmon and pink and red-purple colors.
      We’re also harvesting from the dozen or so Tuscan or Dinosaur kale plants came up from seed sown weeks ago. 
      Both of these “greens” make a great combination of textures and nutrition in raw salads, stir-fried in omelettes, and adding to soups and stews.
    
Boysenberries
     The long-lasting overcast and chilly weather are extending the boysenberry ripening.  In the past, we’ve had a couple of quarts in the week of Mother’s Day.  This year, we’ve had a handful ripening every other day since before Mother’s Day – a good three weeks – and the bush is still full of many more berries to ripen. 
      Also because of the weather, the berries aren’t as ripe and I’d like them, but I still wait until the last possible moment to pick them. 
     The three cues/clues to the perfect moment of ripeness are 1) the berries have turned from bright-shiny to dull-matte purple, 2) the green petal cap has dried to tan brown, and 3) “tickling” the berries to fall gently into the palm of your hand (if you try to pick the berry and it won’t easily release, it's not yet ready and will be tart!). 
 
Sowing Summer and Winter Squash Seeds
      All squash are grown during the heat of summer.  How long they grow and when we eat them is determined by whether they’re “summer” or “winter” squash.
     Summer squash – we eat these immature when they’re young and tender, generally immediately after harvesting during the summer, like zucchini, crookneck, scallopini, pattypan.
     Winter squash – we let these develop fully until the skins are hard enough that they can’t be easily punctured with a fingernail,  generally stored for eating during the winter, like pumpkins, acorn, delicata, butternut, spaghetti, dumpling.
     Squash blossoms – we harvest these as soon as they develop on both summer and winter squash and prepare them immediately.
 
Adjust Irrigation Schedule
      Assuming that our “real” hot summer weather is almost upon us, it’s time to adjust automatic and manual watering patterns so that we continue to teach plant roots to grow deeply for water for the rest of the summer.
         Make sure that irrigation drip lines, soaker hoses, sprinklers, and trenches are in place before root systems get too large.
         Water plants deeply so the water sinks below the plant’s root system every time. 
      Watering too frequently means that the water stays within the top inch or two of soil, and this makes the plant susceptible to drying out during hot weather because the soil several inches down where the roots are isn’t kept moist.
    Mulch the soil with organic matter such as compost, leaves or grass clippings to temper the drying and heating effect of the sun, and irrigation will be more effective with less frequency and quantity.
 
For more monthly tasks, see June.
 
For more main-topic blogs from past years, see Homepage.

     You’ve noticed that the weeds are growing lushly and even putting out their blossoms and setting seed.  Time to pull them immediately, with no more delay, since you definitely don’t want them to propagate and recycle themselves. 
    Watering the day before weeding will ease the chore, and weeds' entire root systems will come out more readily. If you leave pulled weeds in garden pathways as drying mulch, be sure to leave them with their roots up so they don't reroot. But never leave weeds that have already developed their seedheads -- some seeds may continue to mature before the foliage completely dries up and some will undoubtedly germinate next year.
     This spring, like last year, has developed into being longer and cooler weather that’s just now transitioning into warm weather.  But, since we don’t know what the real weather will turn out to be over the next month, we can sow and transplant both the last of spring veggies and flowers and the first of the summer ones.  Yes to beets and cilantro and lettuce and parsley and peas -- especially heat-tolerant varieties.  And also yes to tomatoes and cukes and squash and peppers.  No more need to delay since the soil has been thoroughly moistened from the rains and is warm enough to foster great root growth as the air temperatures increase steadily into summer. 
     Ultimately, if the warm weather really settles in, we may not get much from these just-planted cool-season veggies.  In fact, some of my spring-sown cilantro and parsley are already bolting (sending up those sturdy stalks and setting seed), so I’m harvesting them in big clumps and sowing more seed for hopefully another couple of months of eating if the air temperatures remain moderate.
     But if we get more cool or moderately warm weather, both those and the warm-weather seeds and transplants will do nicely as well. Then, it’s win-win for both.  Always good to provide for success regardless of what the weather does..
     Volunteer beans are coming up from last year where I’ve planted tomatoes this year.  I’ll let them coexist on their trellises. I’ll just make sure to keep my eye out for beans amongst the tomato foliage since they’ll set first!
 
Encouraging Pollinators
     Encourage bees to visit your garden for better pollination. They'll come more readily if you provide their favorite plants--including basil, borage, calendulas, catnip, hyssop, lemon balm, mint, summer savory, thyme, and other plants with blue flowers.
     To attract butterflies to your garden, plant asters, lantanas, buddleias ("butterfly bush"!), marigolds, sweet Williams, tithonias (Mexican sunflower), zinnias, and other daisy-like flowers.
 
Trellising
   Trellises provide support for greater fruit production per square foot of soil and for longer periods because more leaf area is exposed to sunlight for more effective photosynthesis, and more air circulation means less fruit rot and ground-insect attack. Vines spreading on a trellis can also provide shade for a porch, patio, or wall. Crops grown on a trellis are easier to pick and cleaner, not available to snails and slugs, and not prone to ground rot.
 
Watering Patterns
     Watering patterns you begin now will help or hinder your plants' abilities to thrive -- not just survive -- during the extended heat of summer.
         When germinating seeds, water the beds or flats both in the morning and in the evening to keep the soil surface moist until at least of the seeds have germinated.  Then, water the baby plants at least once a day until the second set of true leaves develops. "True" leaves look like miniature versions of mature leaves. Then, shift to watering every other day until the plants are large enough to transplant.
     When transplanting seedlings, use less-frequent and deeper watering to encourage roots to grow several inches deeply down into the soil for moisture rather than spreading just below the soil surface because of frequent shallow sprinkling. During hot, dry spells, these deeper roots will have access to moisture for continued strong growth, but the shallow-watered roots won't. This watering pattern will also save you time and irrigation water, since the water will sink deeper and evaporate less. Build soil basins around large plants and trees to prevent runoff until it's absorbed.
 
For more timely garden tasks, see May.
 
For archived major-topic articles, see Homepage.

     It’s raining yet again.  Even though we’ve had so much over the last several months, I continue to appreciate all we receive because it refills the soil pores for future absorption by plants’ roots.  I love hearing the dribbling on the roof, the soft and yellowish cast to the lighting, and knowing that the plants will look lush and healthy during my next walk through the garden.  And the thrill that I’m not paying for the water!
 
Tomato Planting Time
     I’ve let my tomato plants that I purchased 3 weeks ago sit next to the bed where I’ll plant them so they’re acclimated to the area where they’ll live out their lives and produce their tomatoes that I so look forward to. 
     I’ve already incorporated compost and manure so the soil has accomplished its warming-up and cooling-down process before I transplant the tomatoes so their roots aren’t damaged.
    Varieties I’m relying on this year have been my favorites over the years -- Big Rainbow, Black Zebra, Black Krim, Celebrity, Cherokee Carbon, Cherokee Purple, Pineapple, and Sungold.
     Last year’s tomatoes planted in another area with more late-afternoon shade didn’t produce many fruits although their plants were tall and lush – telltale signs of being too happy and never getting around to reproducing themselves. 
     In that area this year, I’ll plant other edibles that can benefit from the apparent too much nitrogen and water and less direct sun, like broccoli and lettuce and kale and chard that we eat the greenery instead of waiting for fruit.
 
Still Not Planting Other Veggies
    I’m still not seeding or transplanting other summer-loving veggies like beans, cucumbers, and squash since the soil is just too cool.  In past years, the weather would have already consistently been warm and therefore the soil would also have warmed.  But this year we’ve had only a couple of single days of 70-80 degree temperatures for a continuous early spring climate.  So, instead of trying to get an early start for the summer-loving veggies, I’m choosing to wait until the seeds will be happy to germinate quickly, especially since the soil is so nicely hydrated with all this rain.
       I’ve learned this lesson from years of trying to beat the season with planting seeds and seedlings as early as I possibly could, but with consistently unsuccessful results of poor germination and unvigorous plants until later plantings. 
     After years of observing the seeds and plants struggling through the still-chilly weather, I’m now committed to waiting for the warmth to consistently remain before subjecting seeds and transplants to poor conditions.  I want to see seeds pop up out of the soil and transplants perkily carrying on with their growth.
 
For more garden tasks, go to April
 
For past blogs on seasonal themes, go to Homepage
 
 
 
 
 

Following all that wonderful rain – with commiseration to those folks who sustained damage – our gardens are not only waking up with lots of greenery but sending up blooms galore.  What glorious color and lushness as we walk through our gardens! 

​The weeds are lush as well, however, so make a point of getting them out of the garden while the soil is still moist so you can remove the entire root systems so they don’t resprout.  The wonderful part of the frequent rains over the past several months was to help the California poppies and other wildflowers germinate and then continue developing into sturdy plants.  We’ll see whether the weather continues to be moderate so the plants can grow steadily and strongly and hopefully produce a great bloom season.
 
Edibles
 
Edibles we’ve been enjoying the continual harvest include lettuces and chard and kale that overwintered so well.  Peas are continuing their blooming and setting and picking sequence.  Bok choy and beets and carrots are just attaining harvesting size. Broccoli, cauliflower and kohlrabi are developing into sizeable plants.  Cilantro and parsley are just coming up. 
 
Broccoli Raab has come and gone with just a few plants, just like last year.  I just can’t seem to get many of them to germinate well even when I sow them so early and repeatedly, despite the “perfect” rains keeping soil moist and the warmish temperatures.  Maybe I’ll have to start the process even earlier next September.
 
I’m doing another sowing of Wando peas, which are tolerant of warm weather both at the beginning of the sowing season in October and at the end of the harvesting season in June.  The time between these beginnings and endings, I sow all the other varieties of peas that love the chilly growing temperatures.
 
Even though the weather feels like we’ve turned the corner to warm spring and summer, hold off on transplanting summer vegetables except for tomatoes.   Tomatoes are the only summer vegetables that can tolerate the garden’s still-cool soil. They’ll thrive even more successfully if you’ve amended the soil with organic matter and fertilizer prior to planting, spread their roots and watered them in well. 
 
This magic, however, doesn’t work with other summer veggies like cucumbers, eggplant, melon, peppers, and squash, which will just sit and pout if planted while the soil is still cold.  They may not even recuperate ultimately once the soil has warmed in another month.  Best to just wait a good month before getting them into the ground. Then, they’ll take off and develop more successfully.
 
For more garden tasks, go to March.
 
For more major-topic blogs, go to Homepage.
 
 

     Once you've started your tomato seeds indoors - since they need temperatures between 70-80 to germinate - and they've developed their second set of "true" leaves, you can utilize this technique to get them growing strongly in anticipation of transplanting them outdoors in a couple of months when the soil is warm.
​     One technique to assure sturdy tomato plants from seeds started indoors uses quart-size plastic food storage bags. Folding the bags into square boxes allows several bags to fit together as a group in a square drip tray. Also, each plant's root system is concentrated in blocks that are easy to transplant into the garden. To prepare each bag, fold the bottom two corners under to meet, point to point, and tape them in place. Clip the four new corners for drainage.
     Transplant each two-inch tall seedling into its own bag. Fold down the top of each bag to just above the soil level of the plant. Pack each together in the drip tray, and place the tray in a bright but cool area. As the plants grow, add more soil every few days up to the top two leaves, pulling up the sides of the bag as necessary. Water and feed as usual. Turn the whole tray every day or so so that the plants grow straight. The resulting transplants often have half-inch sturdy stems.
     Two main planting techniques will encourage roots to form along the length of the buried stem. The upright deep-planting method is generally chosen by gardeners in areas with warm springs and summers and those who have loose soils in raised beds. The horizontal planting method is more useful for gardens with cooler springs and summers and soils that are heavy.
     For deep planting into the garden, cut open the bottom of the bag, and set the plant and its entire root system into an eight-inch-deep hole deep enough to bury the plant up to its top set of leaves. Slip the bag up and out of the hole over the plant. Fill in the hole with soil, and pull extra soil into a berm  several inches out from the plant. 
     For horizontal planting, also cut open the bottom of the bag, but turn the plant on its side and gently urge it out so it's laying down sideways in a three- inch-deep trench long enough to accommodate the root section and half of the plant stem. Gently bend the plant's top two leaves up above the soil surface.  Fill in the hole with soil, and pull extra soil into a berm several inches out from the plant.
     Fill the berms in with water three times to make sure all the soil is thoroughly moistened.  The third time, use a half-strength solution of a balanced complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10. "Balanced" means all the N-P-K numbers are the same. "Complete" means that there is at least some of each N, P, and K; none of the numbers is a zero, such as 0-10-10.

Begonia backlit and frontlit - beautiful from both sides.
​

     This week’s Springy warmth enables us to open our doors and windows to allow the balmy weather to flow all around with great pleasure.  I even took off my sweatshirt that’s been keeping me on the barely-warm side of chilly for so long!  And the cool-season seeds that I’d sowed in pots and in the ground a month ago are finally sprouting – a good two weeks longer than it should have taken them!  Finally we’ve got a good start to lettuces, carrots, beets and chard, kale, turnips, broccoli raab and tatsoi.  The artichoke seedlings that had germinated earlier are putting out their third and fourth leaves.  All due to the mid-70-degree daytime gloriousness.  With this coming Thursday’s forecast for more rain, I’ll make a point to sow more of all of these on Wednesday to add to the continuing bounty.
 
Planting Flower Bulbs
     I’ve taken advantage of several last-of-the-season sales of flower bulbs from Easy To Grow Bulbs -- https://www.easytogrowbulbs.com/ – including amaryllis, daffodils, daylilies, gladiolus, bearded iris, Japaniese iris, tigridias, freesias and anemones and ranunculus.
Amaryllis bulbs should be planted so the top half of the bulbs is above the soil or potting mix. 
Daffodils I just planted may or may not bloom later this spring, but I’ll count on them to root well and pump in more energy before the foliage dies back with the warmth of early summer.
Daylilies already established in my garden are just sending up their foliage, so the newly-planted ones will catch up in a month or two; but I’ll again expect them to concentrate on strengthening their root systems rather than expect them to bloom this time around.
Gladiolus bulbs will certainly have time to establish themselves and probably bloom later in warm weather.
Bearded iris going in now will definitely need several months to establish themselves because the rhizomes are so small and will need perhaps the entire year to create well-established plants in order to bloom.  If I was dividing any of my existing reblooming irises, I’d expect them to bloom in the fall since I’d choose to replant large segments.  I’m concentrating on adding only rebloomer irises to my garden so I’ll be able to enjoy fall color as well as in spring.
Japanese iris rhizomes are much larger than the bearded ones, so I may get color later, but certainly next spring after a year’s growth.
Tigridias I tried years ago but they didn’t do well, so am trying again now.  We’ll see!
Freesias are among my favorite spring flowers, and I’ve been lucky enough to have an exquisite pinky-purple one proliferate so much that I’ve spread it along both sides of my long driveway.  Now, I’ve planted a variety of colors along the pinky ones, so I hope the display will be even nicer.
Anemones are perhaps the weirdest-looking bulbs, with corms looking like uneven blobs that you can’t tell which side is up, so you just have to plunk them into their holes and hope that the roots and stems don’t waste too much energy trying to figure out which goes in which direction.
Ranunculus corms look like little claws that need to be planted with their “fingers” pointing down.
 
     While I generally try to dissuade gardeners from purchasing late-season sale bulbs from local stores because they’ve been warm and on display since the fall and therefore are pretty dessicated, the Easy To Grow bulbs are stored under ideal conditions until shipped out on individual orders.  I’ve been extremely pleased with the quality and condition of my orders over the last couple of months.  Of course, it’s best to open the newly-arrived packages immediately after receiving them to let the bulbs “breathe” and then plant the bulbs as soon as possible to enable their roots to begin establishing themselves.
 
For more garden tasks, see February
 
For past blogs on main winter topics, see homepage

​

    The weather keeps being beautiful though chilly at night.  With deciduous trees and plants becoming even more seasonally colorful, like my persimmon, and the few summer edibles like my tomatoes still sort of struggling while I wait for the tiny fruits to ripen enough to pick, the edibles and ornamentals that love the chill are perking up vigorously.  And the in-the-70s daytime temperatures make puttering in the garden so enjoyable.  So what to concentrate on?  Here’re some that I’ve been doing.
 
Planting Fig Trees
     Planting my two Violette de Bordeaux fig trees that I’d started from cuttings last spring.  I know their energies are shutting down now for the winter, but I figured it was better to get them into their permanent home now so they could get barely established now and then be raring to grow with the early spring warmth.
 
Continuing to Harvest Chard
    I’ve been so very impressed with chard’s tender leafy production literally year ‘round that I can’t bear to pull up the plants that have made it this far into the winter, although I always reseed more now to assure new strong plants in the spring.
 
Continuing Sowing Cool-Season Veggies
     Leafy greens like bok choy, lettuce, spinach, and all the mesclun mixes provide such a tremendous variety of greens and reds and whites for raw and cooked culinary uses, and for such a long time through the cold weather before they bolt (go to seed and turn bitter) with the late spring warmth.
  Peas reseeded every several weeks provide a continuing supply of fresh pods all through the winter and into the late spring.  Wando is one variety that can be depended on through the cold and as the last planting when it’s already too warm for other varieties.
 
Continuing Transplanting Perennial Edibles
     Transplant globe artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, horseradish, and rhubarb; also cane berries, grapes, and strawberries.
 
Pruning Roses
    For several years, I’d trimmed my roses back to about 3 feet tall since one year I’d forgotten completely and the resulting foliage and bloom was tremendous.  After many years’ development of lots of scrawny branchlets, this year I decided to do the severe cut, down to about 15 inches.  We’ll see how spring bloom proceeds!
 
Planting Posies
   Sow seeds of African daisy (gazania), ageratum, alyssum, baby-blue-eyes, baby's breath (gypsophila), bachelor's buttons (cornflower), calendulas, candytuft, delphinium, forget-me-nots, hollyhocks, impatiens, larkspur, lobelia, lunaria (honesty, money plant, silver dollar plant), lupines, nasturtiums, pansies, sweet peas, California and Iceland and Shirley poppies, verbena, and wildflowers.
     Transplant seedlings of astilbes, azaleas, bleeding hearts, calendulas, camellias, canterbury bells (campanula, bellflower), cinerarias, columbines (aquilegia), cyclamen, delphiniums, dianthus, forget-me-nots, foxgloves, gaillardias, hollyhocks, lilies-of-the-valley, ornamental cabbage and kale, pansies, peonies, Iceland and Oriental poppies, primroses, snapdragons, stocks, sweet Williams, violas, and violets.​ 
 
     Now, it’d be wonderful to have some rain, but gently falling so the soil can absorb it slowly!
 
     Until then, water overwintering outdoor plants. Irrigation should be reduced, not stopped, as plant photosynthesis slows down and cold weather dries plants out. Plants that are stressed from lack of irrigation are more susceptible to frost damage.   Water less frequently but just as deeply to assure that the full root systems are hydrated.
 

    With more rain - however minimally drizzily - promised, it continues to keep garden soil moist and receptive to sowing seeds and transplanting small plants. 
      And, as we get closer to Thanksgiving and the chill encourages some leaves to change color and other fruits to color up, some of my past blogs are timely to review.

See the full listing of the "Fall" grouping on my homepage. ​

Here're two blogs that are especially worth reviewing now:

• Holiday Decor From Your Garden - 11/19/19


• Cool-Season Plant Problems and Solutions - 3/14/21

    Here we are, at our first major Fall holiday, Halloween, and the weather continues to be perfect for sowing and transplanting.  With mid-80s during the day and mid-to-high-50s at night, seeds will germinate well and baby plants will establish healthy root systems as long as we keep the soil moist.  Another benefit of climate change, I guess, having this great weather this late in the calendar year.
 
Remove Struggling Summer Plants
        However, trying to keep summer-bearing plants carrying on is another matter entirely.  It’s not so much the warm days that keep the plants green, but rather the cooler evenings that determine that the plants start shutting down for the cooler weather. 
     Consequently, I give up on the tomatoes and squash and cucumbers that still have clumps of green foliage and even a fruit or two.  Instead of attempting to keep them alive in the hopes that the fruits will ripen up, I pull them and prepare the soil for its next crop. 
       When I first started gardening, I was intrigued with the idea that I could trim back the dead foliage, feed and water the plants, and get them to continue fruiting.  But then, after all this additional effort and nurturing, with a couple of months’ passage of time, the resulting fruit were at best blandly flavored, certainly no better than what I could purchase at the grocery store (and they weren’t available at farmers’ markets since they were off-season).  I determined that I would no longer “waste” my garden space trying to hang on to old plants that were beyond their season, to say nothing of beyond their peak.  Instead, I would revitalize the soil and sow or plant veggies that thrived in chilly weather and bore fully-flavored fruits.  In other words, grow what grows best when it grows best.
 
Still Harvesting
       Chard and Lacinato kale, both of which made it through the summer heat, again put out tender leaves, although they’re growing more slowly.
 
Seeds to Sow and Seedlings to Plant Now
     Sow or transplant fava beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, chard, coriander (cilantro), garlic, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce (especially romaine types and small-heading Bibb and buttercrunch types, which thrive with only minimal damage from light frosts), mustards, green and bulb onions, parsley (the flat-leaf type is hardier than the curly one), peas, radishes, shallots and spinaches, especially the curly-leafed savoy types. While these plants won't grow much till early spring, they'll have well established root systems ready for the great growth spurt with the first warmth.
 
Planting Garlic, Shallots, and Bulb Onions
         Garlic and shallots and bulb onions planted now will develop a strong root system over the winter, and leaf production can begin early in the spring, resulting in a large head next summer. The sooner you plant them now in rich, well-drained soil, the larger they'll be at harvest.
        Planting in the spring, even with rich soil, they will develop only into medium or small sizes; garlic may not separate into individual cloves.
      For the largest resulting sizes, plant individual cloves or bulbs four to six inches apart in a raised planting bed that is well-drained and compost-enriched, and keep the soil moist through next June.
 
Transplanting Strawberries
     Renovate strawberry beds away from where solanum-family plants -- potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers -- have grown within the last three years. Incorporate rock fertilizers, compost, and cottonseed meal. Water well. Let all these amendments mature for two to four weeks.  Then, transplant strawberries one foot apart so the crown is just above the soil level. Strong roots will develop over the winter, and spring warmth will encourage fast growth and large berries.