Winter Vegetable Plant List - Southern California

I love being a Landscape Designer in Santa Clarita, and I am lucky enough to be teaming up tomorrow with my friend, Tina Landrum to speak at Green Thumb Nursery in Newhall.  Since one of the benefits of living here is the year round gardening and it is the Harvest Faire, Tina and I will be talking about Edible Winter Gardening.

So, I thought I'd give you a list of the plants I'll be talking about tomorrow.  We'll also be highlighting organics, organic practices, nutrition and how growing your own food nurtures both body and soul.

Pak Choy

Winter Vegetables: 

What to Plant (Seedlings)               When to Plant It                            

Arugula                                            August - January
Bok Choy                                        Sept - Oct                              
Kale                                                 July - September                   
Lettuce                                             August - October                      
Spinach                                            August - October                          

Kale

Better late than never, here are a few that will still very likely work, although we are a few months behind.  It has been very, very hot so I think we'll still have more than half a chance!  

What to Plant (Seedlings)                    When to Plant It                               

Broccoli                                              June - July                                     
Cabbage                                             Mid July                                      
Swiss Chard                                       July - August                                   

Swiss Chard

Bulbs (or sets)
Garlic                                                 August - October                           
Onions                                               August - October                           
Shallots                                              August - October                          

Onion Field - Fillmore

Winter Herbs:

What to Plant (Seedlings)             When to Plant It                                

Cilantro                                       Sept - December                               
Dill                                              Sept - December                               
Oregano                                      All year round - a perennial!              
Parsley                                        Sept - December                              
Sorrel                                          Most of the year cooler is better       
Thyme                                        All year round - a perennial!             

Sorrel

There are also plants that do well by seed 

What to Plant (Seeds)           When to Plant it                                

Arugula                                 August - January                               

Beets                                    August                                               

Carrots                                 July                                                    

Kale                                     July                                                    

Kohlrabi                               August                                              

Lettuce                                 August                                               

Parsnips                                July - August                                    

Radish                                  September                                        

Spinach                                August                                                

Swiss Chard                         July                                                    

Turnips                                 August                                               

Radishes & Beets

Carrots & Beets

I like to succession plant the lettuces, if you plant new plants or seeds every few weeks, you will lengthen your harvest.  As one set of lettuces are cut back, new will be growing and you can have lettuce till it gets to hot.

Seeds of Arugula, Kale, Lettuce, Spinach and Swiss Chard can also be planted a little bit late it just means that you'll have smaller more delicate plants - which usually means sweeter leaves. 

If you'd like a little more detail about planting your garden and didn't make it to Green Thumb today, read a bit more in How To Grow A Winter Vegetable Garden.


If you would like help beautifying your life, think about creating a garden with me. You can call me at 661-917-3521, contact me via email at julie@thegrassisalwaysgreener.net or visit my website.

Edible Gardens

I grew up in my mother’s and grandmother’s gardens on Long Island, picking blueberries, cherries, apples, and sometimes when they hid too long my mother would harvest cucumbers and zucchini that seemed bigger than my head. (Remember never eat anything bigger than your head!) Now that I am a Landscape designer in the Santa Clarita Valley of California, I enjoy adding edibles to my clients’ gardens and of course my own.

I am slowly chipping away at my front lawn, adding both low water/low maintenance plants and edibles. (Yes, I hydrozone so that all are properly watered) I have container designs with squash and eggplant, and I love to add lettuces and greens to almost any container. I also have a beautiful fennel plant (taller than I am) in front of my house where I’ve removed lawn; it is surrounded by gaura, irises, agastache and more. I’d say that about 1/3 of my gardens are edible and I’m hoping to bring more and more clients along for the ride.

 
One of the gardens I’m working on right now will have a round fountain surrounded by an 18” round planter bed filled with edibles. This winter they will be harvesting succession planted lettuces, a variety of perennial and annual herbs, and edible flowers. I’ll be sure to post photos once we’re planted and growing.

There are so many ways to incorporate edibles into your landscape; of course you can add a kitchen garden into your design, raised bed or right in the ground, it is as old as grandma’s back patch. Or you can start simple, and add herbs to your planter beds. If you want quick results just add some herbs or edibles into an existing bed. Try using either thyme or oregano as ground cover and culinary sage makes a beautiful front of the bed accent! (I like the variegated variety, but the purple one is pretty too and both have wonderfully textured leaves.)

What about introducing some fruit trees? If you manage them right (see my backyard orchard post) you can have months and months of fresh seasonal fruit.

Don’t forget that you can add beautiful flowers too, some are edible and others are good to keep bad insects at bay. Try borage to keep pests off eggplant they also have an edible flower on them that is a lovely lavender color. Dill will help you find out that the hornworms have hit the tomatoes and you will be able to take care of them early. Other edible flowers that I love are nasturtiums and pansies, day lily, and cornflowers. I also love to throw the blossoms of my chives into a salad, and I use the agastache flower (anise hyssop) as a pretty garnish on plates.

There is so much you can do with your garden if you just start thinking outside of the vegetable bed! Think about using the vegetables as an accent, or a focal point. What could be prettier than colorful Swiss Chard?

If you would like to learn more about edible gardening, winter gardens, and the nutritional value of the plants we can grow pretty much year round in Southern California, and you live near Santa Clarita please join my friend, Tina Landrum,  and I for a Complimentary Seminar:  The Edible Winter Garden, on September 22, 2010 at Green Thumb Nursery’s Harvest Festival.  Tina and Julie will be speaking at 10 am, and the festival goes on all day! Raffles, give-aways, discounts, and the Halloween Décor is out!

Green Thumb is located at: 23734 Newhall Avenue Newhall, CA. 91321. I look forward to seeing you there.

My Favorite Books

I have been taking both my portfolio and a couple of favorite books with me lately on first time client meetings and they have been met with great excitement!

I have had more than one person ask me to send them links to one or the other of the books I carry or have been furiously scribbling away while we are looking at beautiful, inspirational photographs.

I love to get new ideas from other talented designers and horticulturalists and both of these books give me inspiration every time I turn the pages.

I was lucky to attend a book signing last year sponsored by APLD where Carol Bornstein and Bart O'Brien were speaking. I had been anxiously awaiting the publication of their book, Reimagining The California Lawn, (written along with David Fross) since I had heard Carol speak during the summer of 2010 at the Pacific Horticultural Symposium. This book has proved to be everything that I had anticipated and more. I thought it would just be for my use, but find that it inspires my clients to think outside their standard comfort zone because the photographs are so amazing.




I have always loved edibles, since I have been a kid in New York, our family had fruit trees, berry bushes, and always a vegetable garden. I have been adding edibles to my garden designs when ever even the slightest opportunity presents itself. When I heard about the next book - I was VERY excited! I have never had the opportunity to meet Ivette Soler, author of the Edible Front Yard, but I follow her on twitter and was kept up to date on the status of her book until its publication. This book has beautiful photographs by Ann Summa and is a must have for anyone thinking of adding edibles to their landscape - either in the front yard, or anywhere else.



I hope you take a moment to look at the links to these books, gain some inspiration, and maybe add to your collection.

Enjoy!

For more about my designs, please check out my website.