November Gardening & Seasonal Eating Guide for Zone 9

Here in Central California Zone 9 we are so fortunate because you can garden and harvest every month of the year! I’m a life-long gardener sharing tips I’ve learned myself as well as generational knowledge passed down to help get you ready to grow!

What To Plant This Month:

Well we are really in the heart of autumn now! If you've been procrastinating on getting your fall veggies planted there's still a few weeks to get plants in the ground but I recommend buying starter plants from your local nursery rather than seeding at this point. (Besides small leafy greens or carrots, which are still fine to sow) This is also the perfect time to get onions planted! Lots of nurseries will be selling them either by the bundle or in 6 packs. I've personally never grown onions in my own garden but my husband has so I'm hopeful it will go well!

Don't forget about flowers! Fall is the season for pansy, viola, snapdragon, cyclamen and chrysanthemum, all of which come in a stunning range of colors! Flowers that grow from bulb like tulips and ranunculus can also be planted now for a beautiful display next spring!

I've got stock, snapdragon, pansy and viola blooming in my beds right now, I went with a color mix that's leaning toward more purples this season!

Popular Fall Plantings:

• Kale

• Cabbage - Try a crispy oval cabbage like 'Napa' or a fun purple kind or maybe 'Flat Dutch' which grows in a unique flat-shape, resembling a wheel of cheese!

• Broccoli

  • I ended up planting both a classic green head broccoli and 'Purple Sprouting' which will give off 'shoots' of florets rather than a single main 'head' of broccoli.

• Carrots - cold weather carrots tend to be sweeter than those grown in summer!

  • The neighborhood cats love digging in my raised beds so when I seed big patches of carrots I lay some chicken wire over it to keep them out till the plant have time to grow. I sowed some seeds a few weeks back and will sow more this first week of November!

• Parsnips

• Brussel Sprouts

• Cauliflower - try an orange or purple variety for fun!

• Sugar Snap peas (I'm planted a mix of green, yellow and purple varieties from seed!)

  • I planted mine right around the first week of October and they're climbing up slowly but surely, some are a few feet tall while others are still under a foot BUT I'm already seeing the first flowers and tiny pea pods!! Very exciting!

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• Lettuce

• Other leafy greens like Spinach and Arugula

• Spinach

• Chard

• Leek

• Bok Choy

• Radish

• Softneck garlic

  • I'm growing garlic for the first time this season! I picked up some organic garlic from Son's Farm Fresh Produce in Oakdale, planted a couple weeks back and I already have green garlic stems shooting up!! Bulbs and big seeds are always the easiest to get started!

• Flowers; Pansy, Viola, Snapdragon, Cyclamen, Chrysanthemums

• Herbs; Cilantro, Chives, Parsley

As always there's lots of variety to try!

Gardening Tasks:

              There's always plenty to do in the garden! This list is designed to help put focus on tasks that are best completed in a timely manner to set you up for success in the coming growing season.

• Top up cleared veggie beds with extra mulch (I personally like GroMulch from Kelloggs) and compost or aged manure)

  • If you happen to have rabbits or sheep, their manure is less intense and so it doesn't need to be aged - We cleaned out our rabbits pen and I took the bucketful right over to the garden to mix in while I planted!

• The transition time between summer crops and fall crops gives you a chance to make big changes! This is a good time to add garden beds, setup new watering systems, add/remove/move big trellis's or other supports.

  • I added a nice big 10x23ft in ground bed this fall and we enlisted some friends to help us move our chicken coop from across the yard to right next to it, it's becoming a really nice space! I made mulch pathways all around and used .63 cent red bricks from Home Depot to line the planting space.

  

  Left: the new garden plot right after we moved the chickens to it. Right: The same spot after mulching the edge and making a brick border

• Consider adding trees, shrubs or permanent perennial plantings to your landscape. This is the best time to plant them so they wake up in spring ready to go. Read more about this here! Be sure to water consistently through fall till winter rains begin!

• Get your gardening journal out or just snap a few pics of the garden! Take note of which plants did well for you this year and what needs changing for next springs plan. Maybe you planted something where it didn't get enough sun, or planted your tomato too close together (guilty!), or planted too much of something that you want to scale back on next year.

What’s In Season?:

What produce you can expect to harvest from your garden or find at the local farmers markets this month. Seasonal eating means focusing on sourcing produce that’s being freshly harvested in your area, rather than imported from tropical areas overseas or that’s been sitting in cold storage for months on end. An easy way to get an understanding of these fresh items is to visit your local farmers market, even just 1-2 times a month and purchase your produce there rather than at the grocery store, this not only provides you and your family with greater nutritional benefit due to the freshness of the items but it also supports local agriculture and small businesses. Check out my Farm Map by Clicking Here!

October is fall in full swing! We are now in the heart of apple, pomegranate and persimmon picking season!

• Apples!

  • We visit Lucky-You Orchards for cider, juice and apple picking!

    

• Pears

• Pumpkin, Butternut squash, Acorn Squash

• Greens like spinach, lettuce, sprouts, and radishes

• Edible Pansy & Viola Flowers

• Walnuts, Almonds, Pecans

• Cranberry

• Carrots

• Pomegranate - Ripe when they crack or reach full deep red color. They also go from being perfectly round to having flat sides -making a more blocky or hexagon shape.

  

• Persimmon

• Early varieties of Citrus will be ready in the second half of the month!!!

  • Meyer Lemons

  • Bearss Limes

  • Mexican Key Limes

  • Owari Mandarins

  • some varieties of Oranges

Tips for Incorporating Fresh Ingredients in your everyday meals

As gardeners its extra painful to watch food go to waste -Here are some ways we use up the excess and honor the flavors of the season!

• Walnuts and Almonds are being swept up all around us! Use them for home roasted and salted nuts, homemade granola, plain snacking or get creative! I've seen a 'Walnut Pie' online I've been meaning to try. Pecans and hazelnuts are also in season, though not as common in the central valley.

• Fall Salads! Top fall salads with pear slices, apple slices, fresh cheeses and honey drizzles!

• Use Edible flowers to garnish salads, drinks or freeze into ice cubes for creative hidden garnish!

  • Most pansy and viola are edible flowers! They make super cute drink toppers and add color to fall and winter salads!

• It's PIE SEASON! Apple Pie, Pumpkin pie, ect. Even meat pies with thickened Chicken or Beef stew, which make great packable work lunches.

  • I have made 3 classic apple pies already this fall and i plan to make more over the coming month! Recipe coming soon!

  • Planning to also start testing a Persimmon Pie soon

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• Top breakfast oatmeal or pancakes with fresh apple or persimmon slices and dash of maple syrup!

• Fuyu Persimmon (the kind for fresh eating), stores really well in the fridge even after sliced. I like to peel and slice a big bowlful every few days and keep it in the fridge in a covered container. We even take slices to work in baggies. Persimmon is also really tasty with Tajin sprinkled over or just a dash of plain salt.

• Lean in to seasonal soups and stews of all kinds.

• Every weekend now I take extra time cooking a slow meaty stew, a big pot will make lots of leftovers for work lunches.

• Pomegranate juice! I spend hours removing the juicy arils from the labyrinths of pith! it makes a good after-dinner activity. Once I have a blender full I blend well and run it through a sieve to remove the seeds. The juice keeps in the fridge fresh about 4-5 days or you can freeze cubes for later use!

• Use Cilantro for chimichurri to serve over steaks or pan fried meatballs

• Use Kale in soups, salads and green smoothies.

• Use carrots in soups and fresh snacking

What are you working on or cooking up this month?! Comment below!