If you have a food garden at home, you know its happening. The summer veggies and annual herbs are gone or going, making room for the cool weather fall garden plants. Use up those last pale basil leaves, clear out the withering zucchini vines, search for the last of the peppers. Even though those tomato plants are still clinging to some stubborn green late bloomers, the landscape in the garden has definitely turned a corner.
In between brown leaves and late blooming asters in my garden, new colors are showing through where the red chard, second planting of purple beet greens and bright green pea vines are reaching for the sun … in a hurry to produce before they really get cold.
My garden is a tough environment for even the hardiest veggies to grow up in. The shade canopy of the old oak trees closes in tighter each season, until the only direct sun catches the main garden for a few short hours in midday.
This spring I resorted to ‘guerrilla gardening’ tactics … boldly planting my sun-loving tomatoes and peppers in the middle of my neighbor’s unfinished driveway project. They grew there in the construction zone as happily as weeds ! Full sun where the trees had been cleared, a temporary deer fence made of sturdy mesh meant to reinforce concrete slabs, good compost in holes dug out of the freshly piled driveway bed dirt, a deep layer of straw mulch. A garden ! …. with permission from my neighbor, of course, and with the understanding that the backhoe will be back to finish the road project at some point in the future.
For my fall veggie patch, back in the shade … I plan to use some season extending strategies* to help them make the best use of those 3 hours of warm sun. I’ve never done this before, so it will all be an experiment. But if I get to enjoy late season fresh food from my own garden, the work will be waaayyy worth it !
If you aren’t the lucky steward of a fall garden plot, you will still find all of the fall fruits and vegetables you could ever want from the local growers. The local farmers markets are at their most colorful peak right now, with squashes, pumpkins, apples … I even found avocadoes, grown by Chaffin Family Orchards, just ‘up the road’ in Oroville. So, what’s stopping you ?! Get out there and enjoy the fall harvest.
* you can find all sorts of season extending ideas and advice at Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply & Nursery. And there’s still time to plant some late greens, if you hurry … maybe a ‘kitchen window garden’. Healthy locally grown, veggie starts are still available at Peaceful Valley Nursery, Weiss Bros. Nursery, and at the front door at BriarPatch.**
** and many other farm stands, and local nurseries that I haven’t visited recently ….. sorry if I didn’t mention them all. I do get around a bit, but I just can’t be everywhere ….. hard as I try !!
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