postcard from the garden

goings on and things to get done in my zone 9b garden this October

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The rain settled in early in the morning, drumming insistently over the rooftops. I jumped out of bed, remembering the laundry on the line, all of us tripping and running outside to grab it before it was fully soaked. The steady hum of the dryer as it tumbled out the bit of rain already soaked, the kettle whistling on the stove, the rain beading down the outside windowpanes as we steamed up the inside ones making waffles and coffee and tea. Sunday morning.

On and off all day, the rain continued with its steady tapping, the coziest white noise backdrop to our day. We baked a cake, we made popcorn, drank more tea. Late in the afternoon, there was a break in the rain and we went outside, James to splash in puddles and push hands into the glorious mud, me to check on the plants. What a good smell it is, petrichor, a first good rain in a while, summer’s dust washing off everything, baptizing it anew.

There’s lots to do in October in the garden here, clearing up from summer mainly, and replenishing the garden for autumn and winter. Here in zone 9b we grow vegetables right through the winter- of course they grow more slowly because of diminishing light levels, but there’s still much food to be had. Cabbages, kale, spinach, chard, lettuces, mâché, chervil, alliums, broccoli, turnips, beets, carrots, chicories, radishes- these all thrive here in the cool season. Here’s the ways I’ve been slowly tending to our little patch of earth this month.

Transplanting: I had started all kinds of seeds back in early September, mainly greens, and they have been ready in the last week to be set out into the garden. I’ve transplanted chard, frisee, little gem lettuce, passione brune lettuce, and chervil. I’m also transplanting little larkspur plants that popped up everywhere where I had let mine go to seed last year.

Garlic: planting garlic is one of my favorite things to do. It is like tucking a little parcel of hope into the soil before winter comes, stowing away a promise of spring to come, something that will swell through the winter months largely unnoticed until it provides you a harvest in early summer with the flavoring for meals all year long. I really like hardneck garlic becauce it also provides scapes in spring, when there’s not a lot coming from the garden. The drawback is that it tends not to last quite as long as soft neck, and can’t be braided well. I’m growing Musica (a long storer), and Godfather’s Italian. I like to order my garlic from Filaree, its an organic garlic seed farm in Washington state. I also save a few heads of my garlic from the previous year to plant.

Sweet peas: Early this month I sowed sweet pea seeds. Here, we plant in fall, and they grow slowly and overwinter before bursting into bloom in early spring. I always give them a good soak overnight as they can be slow to germinate, and our soil is still quite dry underneath the top layer. This year, I’m growing Beajolais, a rich wine colour, and Lunar Blue, which starts out a white tinged with lavender, then turns an almost iridescent light blue, then a rich galactic blue as it ages. We grew it last year and I couldnt stop marveling at the color. Otherworldly!

Onions: I started many seeds of onions and leeks and shallots which are going out into the garden this week. I use the multisowing method of Charles Dowding, in which you plant 3 or so onions (or radish or beet etc) together in one hole, twisting out one when you need it, leaving the rest to grow on. This saves so much space in my rather small garden, allowing me to grow many more onions. I prefer to grow onions from seeds rather than sets, for me I find they grow better and bolt less. I mostly grow storage onions to use through the year, but also always grow some long tropean onions for fresh eating in spring. They are so sweet and perfect in salads and to flavor early spring dishes like vignarola.

Compost: This is also the time of year when I spread lots of compost. Usually by now my heap is ready after a summer of lots of trimmings. I mix in loads of decomposed horse manure from my parent’s horse. I spread the mix all over the veg patch and also under fruit trees, roses, and other places where flowers, fruit or veg will grow. This is such an important step in creating health for the garden. If you live in a very cold area, this is time for mulch to go on top of the compost mix, too.

Saving seeds: Most things in the garden from summer have finished up, so I’m going around when I have time, and collecting seeds from cosmos, beans, zinnias, basil, tomatoes, zucchini and winter squash, and preparing them for next year. Be sure to label well and store in a dry place.

Cutting back: In the same vein, many things need to be cut back after getting long and leggy over summer. I’ve cut back shrubs, lavenders, oregano/marjoram/thyme, lemon balm, salvias and other bushy plants in preparation for winter, and to reshape them so they look nice and full instead of spindly and stretched out. Here, it’s not time to cut back roses yet, so wait for that. I usually do it in December or January.

Waiting for bulbs to come: next month, I’ll be planting bulbs- narcissus and tulips- and tubers/corms- ranunculus, tuberose- just waiting for them to come in the mail. Bulbs are some of the easiest plants to grow, even if just in a pot on your windowsill. Stick them in the ground, and wait. Many will spread over time, making more and more for years to come. Joy every spring. John Scheepers, Brent and Beckys, and Johnny’s are my usual companies I order from.

Some of the tulips from last spring, well worth the time it took to plant them

left, Brassica patch with some basil still hanging on; right, one of the last roses- Olivia Austen

What are you doing in your garden this month? Big or small, I’d love to hear.

xx A