Plenty To Do To Keep Southern California Yards Beautiful in Fall

Aug. 30, 2010 - PRLog -- OXNARD, CALIF.--While summer gardens and annuals begin to fade in fall, there is still plenty gardening to do to keep backyards looking beautiful and vegetable gardens productive, says experts at Agromin, an Oxnard-based manufacturer of earth-friendly soil products made from recycled organic material from over 50 Southern California communities.
Prepare Garden Soil For Fall Planting: Remove weeds and remnants of older plants from the soil. Loosen the soil and mix in compost. This will give your soil a fresh start for fall planting.
Plant More Flowers: Remove scraggily-looking summer annuals. Warm Southern California Septembers allow gardeners to plant flowers from seed for fall and winter blossoms. These include chrysanthemums, sweet peas, snapdragons and asters. Keep seedbeds moist and shaded from hot afternoon sun until seedlings develop two to four leaves. Add a layer of mulch an inch away from plant stems and again in October and November for frost protection in valley locations. For instant color, go to your local gardening centers for packs of already flowering and ready to flower plants.

Prune hedges and shrubs: Prune long stray stems from hedges and shrubs. This will prompt new growth before winter when growth slows.

Feed Citrus: Feed citrus and avocado trees in fall. Feeding should take place once in spring and again in fall. Feeding now with citrus-specific fertilizers will mean a healthy start to growth next year.

Plant tomatoes and other vegetables: Nothing tastes better than a fresh, homegrown tomato. Varieties such as Champion, Glacier, Taxi and Siberia can be planted in September for a mid-to late-October harvest. Other vegetables that can be planted in fall for a winter or early spring harvest are  peas, fava beans, kale, leeks beets, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, radish, carrots, celery and winter zucchini. Whether planting from seed or from transplants, make sure the soil is always moist for several weeks after planting.

For more gardening tips, go to www.agromin.com.

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Agromin manufactures earth-friendly soil products for farmers, landscapers and consumers. Agromin. based in Oxnard, Calif., is also the green materials recycler for over 50 Southern California communities.