Newsletter - October 2008

Hi,
I'm sorry this is late. I spent a few days in Ft. Bragg and knew I'd want to tell you about the plants. Flower colors are so much more intense by the coast than here. The Mendocino Botanical Garden has truly grown into a marvel from the first time I was there (about twenty years ago). They now have one of the best dwarf conifer collections in the state and you can't beat their collection of heathers and heaths. The dahlias, begonias and fuchsias are enviable and their collection of perennial plants is something I could explore for several days. So many plants will grow there that just dry up here by mid summer due to our wind and sun.

If you drive to the town of Mendocino, you may see flowers growing in private gardens. Such is not the case in Ft. Bragg. I don't know if it's because people are only at their homes part of the year, or if they are just not interested, but living in that beautiful plant climate seems to be wasted on so many land owners. I saw a few half-hearted experiments with perennial grasses and bark, but that was about it. I did buy seed for the purple angelica I saw growing in the botanical garden and can't wait to plant it next spring. I love the ocean and walking along the upper shore I saw many perennial favorites such as poppy, lupine, wild radish, plantains, naked ladies and sage. None of this is visible from a vehicle. If you go, get out and walk around.

In Hopland there is a solar/sustainable-earth store that we always stop at and is a great place to buy books. They have a huge selection of how-to books for being self-sufficient from making soap, to raising bees, to building hay-bale houses. I like to fill in on plant books and my husband likes the ones on animals and nature. I ended up with one about bamboo varieties, one on ground covers and one on useful, edible plants. Did you know you could eat the seed of nigella? It says it tastes like nutmeg. I'm going to have fun reading this one.

With our first rain coming, books fill the garden time. Plants love the weather change, but I've found I work better when it's dry. Indoor time allows time to read through seed catalogs, catch up on periodicals and review favorite texts. When the rain passes, I still need to fertilize everything with 0-10-10 for winter hardi-ness. If crab grass is a problem, feed the lawn now with a product that includes a pre-emergent herbicide to prevent crab-grass seed from germinating. October is really the best month for this chore. Don't forget to reduce your irrigation settings, or in some cases, turn them off completely. Leaves will begin to fall from deciduous trees, vines and shrubs and you'll be removing the foliage of spent summer annuals and preparing the ground for winter plants. October is such a good month for planting in our area. We don't see much top growth, but the ground stays warm enough through the winter for roots to grow and "grab-in", then spring growth is adapted and hardy.

Try to keep up with debris clean up. If you don't, you're asking for problems. Insect eggs over-winter in decomposing leaves and stems as do disease causing fungus and bacteria. Deep piles harbor rodents. None of these are good for the garden, but a compost pile properly maintained generates enough heat to kill pathogens and deter animals. If you have the room and the time, you can recycle the foliage debris and create a rich, healthy and free soil additive for spring planting.

October is the month for pumpkins and all the great their wonderful food products. I don't make pumpkin soup and pumpkin bread all year -- it's seasonal, as are roasted pumpkin seeds - yum. Enjoy early autumn and I'll write on time next month.

Have a great month.