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This article is contributed by UC Master Gardeners of Monterey and Santa Cruz 

 

Rain! What a wonderful gift! Before you stop watering your plants, determine if a plant needs water using your finger (or a chopstick) to carefully dig down to see how wet the soil is, avoiding damage to the roots.

If you have mulch, dig below the mulch into the soil. If the soil is dry, your plant needs watering. With our cooler days and wet weather, you may need to adjust your watering schedule.

November is another busy month in the garden for those gardeners wanting plant California natives, grow winter crops, clean up the garden and build soil in preparation for spring.

Maintenance

  • While we gardeners celebrate the first rains of the season, weeds are sure to follow! If you find yourself dashing to the garden to weed between showers, take care not to compact wet soil.
  • For areas you intend to leave fallow, you can suppress weeds while amending your soil by adding compost and mulch to help retain moisture, and/or sheet mulch. Keep mulch at least 6 inches away from tree trunks and plant stems. Read UCANR publication Mulching for Landscapes and this guide to applying mulch.
  • In addition to building soil health, cover crops are a low-effort way help suppress weeds while building soil fertility.
  • Fall is a good time to start a straw bale garden bed.
  • Continue to clear any plant material and debris which might harbor disease or pests over winter. Add only healthy plant material to your compost.
  • Plant California natives, shrubs and trees.
  • Divide perennials with clean, sharp tools. Sign up for our Tool TLC classif you want to know how to keep your tools in tip top shape.
  • Worried about frost? Read about frost protection for citrus and other subtropicals.

Flowers

  • Cool season annual flowers, such as pansies. nasturtiums, foxgloves, California wildflowers, and poppies, can be planted now, but take care to set them out on a cooler day.
  • This is a good time to spread wildflower seeds. Prepare the site by clearing weeds, then generously spread seed before a rain. Check out our Wildflower Not Weeds class, which will include a sheet mulching demonstration.
  • Many spring blooming bulbs are planted in the fall through the end of the year, such as daffodils, irises and hyacinth.
  • Plant sweet pea seeds now into December for a floriferous spring. You can plant seeds in late winter, but they won’t be as robust.

Fruit trees

  • A fruit tree maintenance schedule is available in the Resources section of this newsletter.
  • Pick moldy or damaged fruit on and below the tree and throw away diseased leaves to minimize the chance of pests and diseases overwintering in your garden, which can affect next year’s harvest.
  • To build soil fertility over the winter, consider planting a cover crop under fruit trees.
  • Preview: Once all the leaves have fallen off the tree, apply a dormant oil spray.

Food gardening

  • Planting schedules by county are listed in Resources. Note that you may need timing adjustments whether your microclimate experiences warmer temperatures, or cooler temperatures (if you live closer to the coast, for example).
  • Shorter days mean your crops will take longer to mature and may have lower yield than they will in the spring. Ease up on fertilizing once growth slows.
    • Consider planting garlic, shallots and bulbing onions, such as Walla Walla. Rule of thumb is to plant garlic in the ground before Thanksgiving.
    • Artichokes are perennial crops in our area. Plant artichoke transplants through the end of the year.
    • Plant Mediterranean herbs, such as rosemary, thyme and oregano.
    • Plant cool season vegetables, which include cabbage, kale, broccoli, arugula, Swiss chard, Asian greens, cauliflower as well as root crops such as radishes, beets and carrots.
    • Plant cool season herbs, such as dill and cilantro, which typically bolt in hot weather.

Pests

  • Managing pests: We encourage Integrated Pest Management, ongoing strategies to manage pest damage. Direct, regular observation is a good practice. Carefully check kale, cabbages and broccoli for aphids or caterpillar activity. Take a flashlight tour of your garden at night to catch slugs, snails and other critters you might not see otherwise!

Evergreen Tips

  • If you need to use a pesticide, read Quick Tips: Less Toxic Insecticides.
  • Reusing planting containers? Wash with mild soap and water to clean. Disinfect planting containers with a 10% bleach solution, meaning 1 part bleach to 9 parts water.
  • Remove diseased plant material (or discard in your green waste can) to keep your garden as disease free as possible. Do not add diseased plant material to your home compost or leave them in your garden beds. Some pests and diseases can overwinter.
  • Make repairs and seasonal adjustments to your irrigation system.
  • If you need help determining how to deal with pests or disease, you can submit a request with photos, if possible, with our help line in theResources section of this newsletter.

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