Turkey on a Leash: Summer into Fall
September in some years can still be blazing hot and not easily labeled as pre-fall. However, it is time to think about garlic, onions, pansies, Johnny jump ups, and leaves putting on a show.
The time to prepare for the holidays is governed by soil temperature. If you shovel snow in the winter, your fall planting options might be limited. Colder climates require plant root systems to be established in order for the plant to survive. Wait too long and cold temperatures will stall your plants.
For autumn planting, soil should be just like in the spring: free from competitive weeds, with additional nutrition, and new soil or compost with water absorbing qualities.
The list of flowers is not as long as in spring but there is plenty of color. Pansies and their shorter cousins, violas or Johnny jump ups, are a fall hit. They are tough as nails with little effort and as beautiful as your prom date.
It is easy to go wild with texture in the fall. Tall and round plants are available to all. Ornamental cabbage comes in several colors. Ornamental kale (isn’t that the only kind of kale?) goes from purple to green. Stalks of yellow flowers bolt as the plant ages. Snap dragons offer different heights and colors, and you can teach the kids how to snap the flowers. Swiss chard is a hit as an ornamental. Depending on the weather, it may act like your cousin who comes to stay a weekend and is still there two years later. Reds, yellows, oranges, and greens add height, color, and texture that is prettier than your cousin.
Many perennials will step up in the fall with cooler night temperatures. Black-eyed Susans, coneflowers, coreopsis, and coral bells all put on a display.
The list of vegetables available for fall is nothing short of awesome. In early fall the leafy guys stand out: spinach, collard greens, and lettuce. Tougher vegetables are celery, carrots, radishes, beets, kale, and peas. The big biceps vegetables are garlic, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, and parsnips.
Now is the time to contemplate your living holiday color. Block plantings of flowers are dynamic. Red and white pansies are as exciting as the arrival of Santa. Colorful pots filled with cyclamen will easily lead to your front door.
Don’t skip fall colors! Use existing décor but add pumpkins and dried grasses. The varieties of pumpkins are now beyond belief: whites, greens, speckles, warty, short, tall, and fabulous orange. Flat and squatty Cinderella pumpkins are easy to stack. If you do not puncture them, they will last on your porch for several months. To keep them upright you can glue them together or skewer them with a dowel from top to bottom.
Combine lights on timers with mason jars, lanterns, or baskets. Stacked wooden boxes filled with potted plants of holiday colors are as cool as a live turkey without the cleanup.
The holiday season is here. A plan and materials will ease you into holiday spirit without rush and worry. A bag of gifts slung across your back and a turkey on a leash will make the neighborhood envious.
Julie Silva is a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener of Tuolumne County.
