Here are five things to do in the garden this week:
Herbs. Chives can be planted now, and if you care for them properly, you will have them or their progeny for years since they propagate from bulbs and self-sown seeds. Chives are also perennial, and single clumps can expand and persist for years. You harvest them by cutting leaves nearly to ground level upon which they promptly begin to push up new foliage. There are garlic chives (Alium tuberosum) and common or onion chives (Allium schoenoprasum) — the latter being more common — and each has a taste that matches its name. Garlic chives have white flowers while onion chives’ flowers are pink. Grow them in full to partial sun and they will perform best with soil kept somewhat moist, although they will continue to grow despite a measure of neglect.
Fall is the season for chrysanthemums. The appearance of button or pompon chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum x morifolium var. Pompon) is a delightful departure from the usual type. Tight flower heads that are one to two inches in diameter are exhibited in white, pink, yellow, burgundy, brick red and, most notably, green. Seeds of these hybrid chrysanthemums are hard to find but I located them at ceseeds.com.
Fruits. Some fruits are edible and some are just for show. The fruits of oriental arborvitae (Platycladus/Thuja orientalis) are of the latter type – they are highly toxic, so you cannot eat them. The plant in question is easily identified as it resembles a giant yellowish-green gumdrop with scaly leaf fans of the kind seen on many conifers. It is completely drought-tolerant after a few years in the ground. However, despite its distinctive charm, it will not flower or fruit anywhere in the San Fernando Valley or points east, west, or south of there since the winter in this expanse is insufficiently cold for the reproductive process to take place. However, if you go up to the Santa Clarita Valley and, even more so in the Antelope Valley, you will be pleasantly surprised by decorous bluish-gray fruiting cones that cover arborvitae, eventually turning brown. Just don’t eat the fruit.
Vegetables. Lettuce seeds differ from those of other vegetables since they need sunlight to germinate. This means they should be planted on the soil surface or gently pressed into the soil, but left uncovered. If the weather is warm, you will have to keep the soil moist until they germinate. Lettuce seeds have long-term viability and they may keep for three years or longer. “Cut and come again” is a technique where lettuce is harvested by one or both of the following methods: 1) Individual leaves are harvested every few days, while most of the growing lettuce leaves are left in the ground. 2) A scissors is used to shear off the tops of growing lettuces. Do not allow your lettuces to grow more than four or five inches tall before harvesting begins, but if you harvest frequently as described your plants can produce new leaves for months.
Just as lettuce seeds need light to germinate, so do California native wildflower seeds. For this reason, they should not be covered when planted. Proper soil preparation is essential. You want to make sure it is soft and inviting so once your seed is spread, you can gently press it into the earth by gingerly walking over it. If the weather is mild, you will not need to water after planting, but if warm weather is forecast, you will want to spray the seeds with a Fogg-It Nozzle attachment to your hose. This is the best hose attachment on the market when it comes to watering seeds.