October 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:

Its officially fall planting season! What an exciting time of new beginnings in the garden! If you forgot to order seeds for fall planting you still have a couple weeks to pickup starter plants from your local nursery! If you didn't already make space for them, consider removing underperforming summer crops like spent zucchini, watermelon or tomato plants to make way for the new!

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!

Popular Fall Plantings:

• Kale

• Cabbage

• Broccoli

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

• Parsnips

• Brussel Sprouts

• Cauliflower

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

• Lettuce

• Other leafy greens like Spinach and Arugula

• Spinach

• Chard

• Leek

• Bok Choy

• Radish

• Softneck garlic

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

• Herbs; Cilantro, Chives, Parsley

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.

• Remove summer annuals that are through producing like tomato, corn, summer squash, ect

• Check Pumpkin/winter squash plants - they should be ready to harvest. Usually color and size is a good indication. Bring them into the pantry and remove plants for fall planting

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

• 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.

• Remove annual flowers and trim back or deadhead remaining perennials

• 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.

• Harvest, harvest, harvest! Warm season crops are on the way out, gather up as much goodness as you can!

  • Dry large bundles of herbs to dry and store in the pantry for winter

  • Use up large harvests for preservations projects like pickling cucumbers and making jam with fruits! I've started making simple syrups from excess fruit to make extra flavorful teas and lemonades!

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

• Cranberry

• Kiwi

• Avocado

• Carrots

• Pomegranate

• Persimmon

  
  

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!

• 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!

• It's PIE SEASON! Apple Pie, Pumpkin pie, ect.

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

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

• We used the last hefty tomato harvest for a simple tomato soup paired with grill cheese sandwiches.

• 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 3 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!