Autumn seems to be coming earlier this year, with the spring and summer drought causing deciduous plants to show fall color and drop leaves about a month ahead of schedule. We also seem to have gotten a jump start on our rainy season, which means the time we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived: […]
Monthly Garden To-do
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September Gardening To-Do List
Though the days feel hot, humid and long, a mild chill at night and streaks of vibrant color through the foliage of birches and maples let us know that winter is coming, and if you’ve ever watched Game of Thrones, you know you don’t want to be caught unprepared by that. It’s getting to be […]
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August Gardening To-Do List
Welcome to August! At the moment, you’re probably still naively excited about every zucchini you harvest, but by the end of the month, don’t be surprised if friends start playing ding-dong-dash. You know you’ve been the victim of this little game when you answer the doorbell only to see a large basket of zucchini and […]
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July To-Dos
With temperatures rising and both vegetable gardens and landscaped areas hitting their stride, there’s a lot to be done in the garden and it’s easy to fall behind. Not only are there the usual tasks like weeding and deadheading, but some plants are outgrowing their spaces, the daily vegetable harvest is picking up speed, and, […]
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The June To-Do List
Though it hardly feels like summer, the half-crazed look of freedom in the eyes of students, college and otherwise, tells a different story. In the garden, the detritus of spring is ready to be cleared away and dead-headed, while summer’s bounty is emerging in the form of early strawberries, artichokes and even a few raspberries. […]
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May To-Do List
Ah, can you feel it? Summer is in the air, with the birds tweeting, plants bursting into bloom and that inexorable itch to get out in the garden and plant something — anything! The intersection of fine weather and a little less rain has me dusting off my hori-hori in anticipation of planting all those […]
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April To-Do List
The garden is finally showing real signs of spring, with new leaves unfurling from branches and spring bloomers putting on a show. Though the North Coast is still in a drought, in most years April’s notorious showers and warming temperatures make it the perfect month to plant annual flowers and cold-hardy vegetables. The rain also […]
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March To-Do List
The dry weather through much of winter has allowed energetic gardeners to get out and complete most of the obvious gardening tasks, but there’s still plenty to do in March. A few final pruning jobs put the wrap on last year’s growing season, and then we get to look forward by preventing spring weeds, protecting […]
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February Gardening
Though February is usually a cold one, it’s a month filled with hope as we are just starting to see fruit trees, crocus, daffodils and others emerge from dormancy. It’s the perfect time for that primal surge that tells us to wake up and start thinking about the garden again, because there are a few […]
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January Gardening To-Do List
This is certainly the coldest winter I can remember since I’ve been in Humboldt County — so chilly that even plants I think of as being hardy are showing serious damage from frost. Though we have all of January’s usual tasks (pruning, pruning and — oh yeah, pruning!), we should give our plants a little […]
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December Gardening
December usually alternates between stretches of cold, clear weather and weeklong downpours, so there’s usually plenty of time for both indoor planning and crafts as well as some of the normal outdoor garden care. Here’s what to do in the December garden. Protect tender plants. This December has shown us some of the coldest weather […]
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November Gardening
Though that primal urge to get out in the garden isn’t as strong now as it was in spring, November is one of the most active months in the garden, just because there’s so much to prepare before the winter weather arrives. Pruning and cleanup, some judicious fertilizing and the start of bare-root season are […]