Autumn is here! Last weekend we had our first frost on the lawn and turned back the clocks to gain an hour of much needed sleep after a stressful couple of weeks of devastating Napa and Sonoma County fires. Lucky for us, our property was spared, but many of our friends and neighbors were not.
The fire burned across the street from us but never jumped the road. The fire fighters used our property fire hydrant for water and were kind enough to throw stacked firewood away from our garage and garden shed. We are grateful for their service.
We know that fire retardant was dropped into our area during the fires, so the first thing I did after 12 days of mandatory evacuation was pull the rest of my vegetables out of the garden. I then added amendments and more soil with the intention of letting my beds enjoy a hard earned rest for the winter.
Then…I went to Van Winden’s Garden Center to look for some winter flowers and came home with a few starts. I just couldn’t help myself.
I planted Green Comet Broccoli, white onion starts, Imperial Green Spinach, Blue Curried Scotch heirloom Kale, Giant Pascal Celery, Italian Parsley, Romaine Lettuce, Lolla Rosa Lettuce and a couple different types of radish seeds.
One of my garden beds will rest for this planting season, however, I did plant a few decorative cabbage plants. The texture and color are wonderful.
I was not going to plant onions ever again (as I read in my garden notes from a previous season) as they are reasonable to buy and plentiful at the Farmer’s Market. My friend and neighbor Patte was going to plant them again, so I just thought I would too. We cook a lot in Napa, and onions are something you can add to any savory dish.
I just love the change of seasons and Fall is one of my favorites! There is nothing better than the smell of soups or stews on the stove top, while curled up in your favorite blanket reading by the fireplace, working on a Liberty Puzzle or playing games with friends. Enjoy the Fall…the holidays will be here before we all know it.
