Let's expand the garden

Moving into the first week of November, we are now kicking off the ‘end of the year’ holiday season when family affairs grow important and time slims with the darkening light. Spend time now planting and caring for your organic garden and you’ll find a constant supply of vegetables and fruit in your harvest bowls and an abundance of fresh chlorophyll in the winter months. Less watering and cooler working conditions make for an enjoyable fall garden season to take advantage of.

Continue to add to your garden every month, ‘side-dressing’ what’s already planted in the garden, and your table is guaranteed an abundance of tasty and sumptuous dishes. Or let your wild side out of the closet and spend some time meditating while grazing in the garden.

Local gardens are harvesting pak choi leaves, tender collards, kale, lettuce, broccoli and other Oriental greens. Planted not but a few weeks ago, these are on the table every day in our salads and sautéed dishes. Yet to add: peppers, cucumbers, squash, melon, corn and basil. These are still growing in areas not encumbered by frost.

Plant a variety of lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, celery, collards, pak choi, mizuna, tatsoi, napa cabbage, peas, carrots, onions, garlic, radishes, turnips, spinach and chard. Local nurseries and garden supply centers are brimming with all these plants and more.

Fertilize and plant now and mulch with straw or something light, since it feels as if rain might be part of the picture. One of the beauties of mulch is its ability to prevent rain from splashing mud onto the leaves of delicate lettuce, oriental greens and spinach in particular. It also minimizes soil compaction.

Avoid planting potatoes, as their season has passed and won’t return until early spring. With the coming of cold, there is not enough time for them to develop into a usable harvest.

With less than a month left before Thanksgiving, there is time to plant enough goodies to supply our wonderful meal with loads of baby veggies for a special salad or side dish. And perhaps we’ll have a few bursts of the Santa Anas to stimulate growth!

Any of the above vegetables can be planted in small planters and large pots. Adding beauty to any home, they add character to the deck where they harvest easily for fresh eating. Herbs, too, can be planted in containers.

Consider the carbon footprint. When growing your own food garden, you reduce the need for transportation of food, storage of food, large walk-in coolers and commercial fertilizers. Organic garden soils hold and attract carbon, thus lowering the impact of carbon dioxide on the atmosphere.

While enjoying your home garden, you can be proud that you use an organic approach that yields the freshest and tastiest food in the world.