FALL PLANTING AND HARVESTING

Robin Stanley

UCCE/El Dorado Master Gardener

Fall is such a lovely time in the garden. Those chrysanthemums that you have nurtured all summer long are finally paying you back with autumn blossoms of yellow, rust and purple. Bouquets by the armful can be the gardener’s bounty in the fall – a time of endings and beginnings.

Lately, some the questions in the Master Gardener office have revolved around what to reap and what to sow at this time of year. Here’s a sampling of some recent questions:

Q. Will my basil live all winter? If it won’t, how can I preserve it? How can I prevent my basil plants from going to seed?

A. We’ll answer your questions in reverse order. Basil is an annual, a plant that germinates, grows, sets seed and dies, all in one season. Biologically, annuals have only one purpose – to reproduce. Whether it is a flowering plant, like a zinnia, a fruiting plant, such as a tomato, or a leafy plant, like basil, an annual is programmed to produce flowers that will turn into seeds. You can’t prevent basil, or other annuals from going to seed, but you can delay the process, reducing the number of seeds that are set early in the season.

Frequent harvesting of your basil plants is one way to discourage seed set. As you take the top leaves off your plants, you encourage the new leafy growth that provides repeated harvests. Sometimes people actually take off too many leaves at once. Don’t cut more than about 1/3 of the leafy growth at any one time or you will leave the plants with insufficient leaves to photosynthesize. If you notice your plants starting to flower and you don’t have time to harvest and use the leaves, just snip off the top of the stem where the flowers have formed.

Basil won’t grow through the winter in most locations of El Dorado County. It is very sensitive to cold, so at the first frost, it will become a blackened stalk. So if you want to preserve it for use over the winter, you have several options: Most of these come from Good Housekeeping.

• Frozen – First gently wash and dry the leaves. Then remove the leaves and process them quickly in a food processor with a small bit of olive oil. You can then freeze small portions in individual containers. Or you can quickly blanch the leaves and then freeze them whole.
• Dried – Dried basil doesn’t retain quite as much flavor, but is convenient for use in Italian seasoning for sauces and salads.
• Pesto – Many people who grow their own basil make pesto by grinding up the leaves and combining them with garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese. You can then can or freeze the pesto or refrigerate it if you plan to use it within a few weeks.

Q. Is this a good time to plant garlic? If so, what do I need to do to grow garlic successfully?

A. According to our Master Gardener Foothill Vegetable Planting Guide, garlic is best planted from the beginning of October to mid-November, so you still have time to plant garlic cloves.

Incorporate lots of organic material into your soil so it drains well during the winter months and allows good bulb development. Fertilize with a complete fertilizer (10-10-10). Plant the individual cloves about 2” deep and about 4” apart with the root end down and the pointed side up. Your garlic should be ready for harvest in June and July next year; watch for the tops to die back to help you know when they are mature.

Remember those mums we talked about at the beginning of the article. Deadhead them (remove the faded blooms) to prolong blooms. After they are finished blooming, watch for new growth coming from the base of the plant. Once you see that new growth, you can cut back the dead branches to near the ground. This will allow the plant to put its energy into beginning its growth for next year.