PLANNING AND GARDEN JOURNAL 

• Refer to your gardening journal for your list of fall tasks.
• Make note of how well your annuals performed.
• Add photos to help for next year.
• Order fruit trees for next year, many nurseries have online preordering.
• Time to start planning and preparing new gardening space for early spring planting.
• Start paperwhite narcissus indoors for a December bloom.
• Plant bare root deciduous trees, shrubs, and vines (e.g., caneberries, fruit and nuts, grapes, and roses). Plant California natives. Select species and cultivars well-adapted to your local site.

 LANDFILL DIVERSION

• Composting

o   What are Hot and Cold Methods? Link

o   Visit our website for more information. Link

o   Vermiculture – Worm Composting Link

• Grass cycling – See below under “Lawn” section
• Rake up leaves on lawns. Use fallen non-diseased leaves as mulch or add to compost bin as carbon material.
• Pull nonperforming annuals, chop up insect/disease free plants and add to compost pile.
• Right Plant Right Place – Select the plant for the mature size, climate conditions, sun requirements, and irrigation needs.

WATCH OUT FOR INVASIVES

• Invasive Weeds of Humboldt County 3^rd Edition Link
• Invasive Plant Checklist for California Landscaping Link
• Green Gardening Brochure Link
• CAL-IPC Humboldt Website Link
• Remove seed heads from invasives.

VEGETABLE GARDENS

• Planting times gleaned from The Humboldt Kitchen Gardener by Eddie Tanner

• Time to sow seeds for coastal areas in October:
• Lettuce, Spinach, Cilantro, Dill – Greenhouse or coldframe
• Radishes, Asian Greens, Arugula – March through late October
• Peas – Greenhouse or coldframe September through October
• Garlic – September through October
• Oats, Rye – September through October
• Time to sow seed for inland areas:
• Lettuce, Spinach, Cilantro, Dill – mid-August through mid-October,
• Lettuce, Spinach, Cilantro, Dill – from mid-October to late February Greenhouse or coldframe
• Radishes, Asian Greens, Arugula – late July through early October
• Peas – Greenhouse or coldframe mid-September through late October
• Garlic – mid-September through late October
• Wheat – September through mid-October
• Plant cover crops in vacant space in your vegetable garden. UC Davis Cover Crop Database
• Additional vegetable gardening information can be found on Humboldt/Del Norte Master Gardener website link

BERRIES AND MISCELLANEOUS FRUITS

FRUIT AND NUT TREES – Gleaned from UCANR The Home Orchard Publication

• Note: not all fruit/nut trees listed may be suitable to plant for your area. Make sure to select the tree and variety that will do best for your location.
• Apricots
• If not sufficient rainfall - Irrigate every one to three weeks to a depth of 18 to 24 inches.
• Cherry
• If not sufficient rainfall - Irrigate every one to three weeks to a depth of 18 to 24 inches.
• Fig
• If not sufficient rainfall - Irrigate every one to three weeks to a depth of 18 to 24 inches.
• Peach/Nectarine
• If not sufficient rainfall - Irrigate every one to three weeks to a depth of 18 to 24 inches.
• Pecan
• If not sufficient rainfall - Irrigate every one to three weeks to a depth of 18 to 24 inches.
• Persimmon
• If not sufficient rainfall - Irrigate every one to three weeks to a depth of 18 to 24 inches.
• Pistachio
• Remove mummies and fallen nuts
• Plums/Pluots/etc
• If not sufficient rainfall - Irrigate every one to three weeks to a depth of 18 to 24 inches.
• Pome Fruit – Apple/Pear/Quince
• If not sufficient rainfall - Irrigate every one to three weeks to a depth of 18 to 24 inches.
• Control codling moth. IMP Link
• Harvest season – times vary for climate and varieties
• Pomegranate
• If not sufficient rainfall - Irrigate every one to three weeks to a depth of 18 to 24 inches.
• Harvest season – times vary for climate and varieties
• Walnuts
• If not sufficient rainfall - Irrigate every one to three weeks to a depth of 18 to 24 inches.
• Harvest season – times vary for climate and varieties 

• Add to your gardening library – UCANR Publication The Home Orchard Link Use Promocode PRHUM12 for a 10% discount.
• Additional fruit and nut tree information can be found on Humboldt/Del Norte Master Gardener website Link 

INDOOR PLANTS

• Check for sufficient light, as there is less available window light. Plants with high light requirements may need to be moved to a different window or benefit under an auxiliary light. Use full spectrum lights for plants.
• For those houseplants that you have outside, it is time to bring them inside before your evening temperatures start dropping below 50 °F. Make sure to look them over closely as you do not want to bring in insects, slugs, and snails. Take the garden hose and give it a good rinse off. Remove damaged leaves.
• Plants start to slow growth and that is the time to start reducing the frequency of water. Water only when the soil is dry to the touch.
• Feed your plants one time this month. Do not feed succulents.
• Lower humidity due to heated homes. Group plants together. Misting does not help.  Caution when setting plants on top of tray filled with pebbles and water, as it can lead to waterlogged soil (make sure water is well below the pebbles).
• Additional indoor plant information can be found on Humboldt/Del Norte Master Gardener website link 

LANDSCAPE – ANNUALS, PERENNIALS, GRASSES, FERNS

• Plant early spring bulbs.
• Apply mulch to help retain heat and moisture.
• Divide overcrowded lilies.
• For seed saving, let the annuals go to seed, as well as for providing food for wildlife.
• For the colder areas, now until early October is the time to plant new perennials, grasses, and ferns. For USDA zones 7-9 plant September through mid-November.
• Herbaceous peonies – divide and plant September through October.
• Remove seedheads from invasive grasses.
• Weed flower beds.
• In highly visible areas groom while leaving less visible areas less groomed for nesting beneficial insects. In those lesser visible areas leave patches of bare soil for ground nesters.
• Deadhead perennials.
• As the heavy rains start, stop fertilizing. Use organic mulch to slowly add nutrients into the soil.  

LANDSCAPE SHRUBS AND TREES

Once you sense autumn weather it is time to plant woody plants. Planting in the fall allows for root growth before spring. UC IPM planting woody plants Link Plant bare root deciduous trees, shrubs and vines. 

• Shrubs
• Clear away fallen leave that are touching stems adjacent to the ground.
• Do not prune during the fall season.
• Do not fertilize this month.
• Irrigate only if rain is not sufficient. 

• Trees
• Assess tree health. If you see any problems contact the Master Gardener Help Desk.
• Irrigate only if rain is not sufficient.
• Do not fertilize this month.
• Roses
• Clean up fallen leaves. Do not add diseased leaves to compost.
• Remove leaves that have not dropped to clear away diseased leaves and to help the plant into dormancy.
• Time to transplant and plant new plants.
• Stop deadheading to promote dormancy.
• For new plants or transplanted roses irrigate if rain is not sufficient.

LAWNS

• Good time to aerate which helps with air and water to move easier. Aerating helps to create stronger grass roots. Water a few times before aerating. Aerating Link
• Mow as needed. Consider grasscycling. Mowing Your Lawn and Grasscycling Publication 8006 Link
• Rake leaves on lawn. Use non diseased leaves as mulch or add to compost bin.
• Check and repair sprinklers as needed.
• Newly installed lawn may need watering if not sufficient rain. Established lawns normally don't need irrigation.
• If you haven't been watering regularly, give at least one deep watering this month.
• Fertilize - Check schedule for types of grass.  Link to UC IPM When to Fertilize
• The Guide to Healthy Lawns UC IPM Link 

LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION

• Adjust watering schedules according to the weather and plants' changing need for water. Check systems for leaks and broken emitters and perform maintenance as needed. Consider upgrading the irrigation system to improve its water efficiency.
• Towards the end of the growing season, some plants may benefit by reducing the frequency of irrigation to help plants harden off to prepare for fall and winter. 

IPM – Integrative Pest Management

• Abiotic Disorders – Prevent or manage damage caused by aeration deficit, herbicide, salinity, soil pH, sunburn, wind and too much or little water.

• Ants - Manage around landscape and building foundations, such as using insecticide baits and trunk barriers. UC IPM Link
• Aphids - On small plants, spray a strong stream of water or apply insecticidal oils and soaps. Look for and conserve natural enemies such as predaceous bugs, lacewings, lady beetles, and syrphids. UC IPM Link
• Bacterial blasts, blight, and canker – Inspect apple, citrus and especially Prunus spp (e.g., stone fruit). Remove entire affected branches in the summer. UC IPM Link
• Black sooty mold – Black and oily leaves indicate an infestation of scale or aphids. UC IPM Link
• Citrus - Monitor for damage and pests such as leaf miner. UC IPM Link
• Carpenter Bees – Paint or varnish and seal wood in which they nest. UC IPM Link
• Carpenterworm – Project trees from injury and provide proper cultural care, especially appropriate irrigation. UC IPM Link
• Clean up mummies and old fruit and nuts in and under trees to avoid harboring pests. UC IPM Link
• Codling moth of apple and pear - Bag fruit. Promptly remove infested and dropped fruit. Apply insecticides only if precisely timed. UC IPM Link
• Coast redwood dieback – Check for drought-stress related maladies such as abiotic disorders, bark beetles, fungal diseases, and spider mites. UC IPM Link
• Compost - Turn and keep it moist. UC IPM Link  
• Crane flies – common in Humboldt causing damage to lawns. UC IPM Link
• Frost – Protect sensitive plants from cold injury when freezing or frost are predicted. UC IPM Link
• Fungus gnats - Generally from overwatering house plants.  UC IPM Link
• Mulch – Apply organic mulch where thin or soil is bare beneath trees and shrubs. UC IPM Link
• Pine bark beetles, pitch moths, western gall rust, and wood borers – If pines need branch removal, prune during October through January UC IPM Link
• Powdery mildew – distinguished by gray cover of powdery mildew can be seen on some plants as evenings become cooler and overapplication of nitrogen fertilizer. UC IPM Link
• Rainfall – Prevent water ponding around trunks and foundations. Improve drainage. Install downspout diverters to direct runoff into landscape soils but avoid waterlogging soil. UC IPM Link
• Root rot - Favored by excessive water and poor drainage. Avoid overirrigation and waterlogged soil. UC IPM Link
• Slugs – August through September is their prime egg producing time. They are light tan round eggs and can be found under a log or mulch. Good idea to remove and toss them away from your garden to be dinner for spiders and black ground beetles. Or just smash those little beasts. UC IPM Pest Link
• Wasps and yellow jackets are both a friend and foe. They can be vicious while being a beneficial insect predator. They are most active during the warmest part of the day. UC IPM Pest Link

• Weeds – Manage weeds using nonchemical methods such as cultivation, handweeding or mowing.  UC IPM Link

EXCELLENT ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

*Get a 10% discount for UCANR books purchased online at UCANR's Book Store. Use promocode PRHUM12.

• Humboldt/Del Norte Master Gardener Website Link
• Humboldt/Del Norte Master Gardener Help Desk Link
• University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Integrative Pest Management Link
• * University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication - The Home Orchard Link
• * University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication – Pests of the Garden and Small Farm Link
• * University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication – Abiotic Disorders of Landscape Plants Link
• * University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication – Pests of Trees and Shrubs Link
• * University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication – Master Gardener Handbook Link
• * University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication – Healthy Roses Link
• Month-By-Month Gardening Pacific Northwest, by Christina Pfeiffer with Mary Robson, ISBN-10‏:‎ 1591866669 

• The Humboldt Kitchen Gardener, by Eddie Tanner, ISBN: 978-0-615-20900-5 (Out of print, look for used copies)
• Insects of the Pacific Northwest, by Peter and Judy Haggard, ISBN 10: 0881926892 (Out of print, look for used copies)
• Pacific Northwest Insects by Merrill A. Peterson ISBN-10:0914516183

 Image by Melk Hagelslad from Pixabay

I had just completed 19 weeks Master Gardener training when Ted gave me my first plant identification challenge. Ted has a gorgeous garden of flowers and abundant vegetables that he has tended for decades in Trinidad. He had never seen such a shrub that volunteered in his horse pasture. 

My first search was on California Native plants site with photographs of 7,988 native plants in California, I narrowed the database search to shrubs in Trinidad. Ted's mystery plant was not one of the 74 results.

The Invasive Weeds of Humboldt County publication on the site turned up nothing on Ted's mystery shrub.

Thinking perhaps Ted had discovered an invasive weed newly arrived in Humboldt, I selected lobbed leaves on the UC Integrated Pest Management Weed Identification tool Introduction to weed photo gallery - UC Statewide IPM Program, which turned up a similar looking plant and fruit, Silverleaf nightshade  (Solanum elaeagnifolium). Ted's enigmatic shrub's  flowers were a paler purple, with smaller yellow anthers, and it was twice as tall.

There are several plant identification smartphone apps that work amazingly well.

It seems like cheating for a Master Gardener to use the Google Lens app, but I was stumped.  Within seconds, as if by magic, Ted's mystery plant was identified; a nightshade plant native to New Zealand and Australia, Solanum aviculare, known as Kangaroo Apple.

Searching the Calflora site using Ted's mystery plant name, I learned that there is a high risk of Kangaroo Apple becoming an invasive plant in California, and the site documented several observations in Humboldt County, one as early as 1968.

These sophisticated digital resources, and valuable plant data now available to gardeners and conservationist will certainly assist managing threats to our native plants that support pollinators and other wildlife.

The photo is used with Ted's permission.  

Our team of Master Gardeners can assist you with questions about home horticulture and pest management.  To assist you with your inquiry please complete and submit the Help Desk Ticket on our website (link). Your question will be submitted to our Help Desk Team of volunteers. 

PHOTOS ARE HELPFUL - Tips for Submitting Pictures with your Help Desk Ticket

If possible, please provide 3 digital photos that are clear and in focus. To avoid strong shadows, outdoor photos are best taken in the shade, overcast days, or when sun is behind a cloud. We recommend including:

1. Photo showing entire plant/plant group and its surroundings with overall pattern of the plant's problem

2. Photo showing affected branches, preferably one with both healthy and discolored tissue. 

3. Close-up photo(s) of symptoms, for example centering on one or a few leaves/needles or the place where green tissue meets discolored tissue; or the areas of suspected insect damage (or the insect itself); an area of the trunk, branch, or twig bark you suspect of being abnormal, such as stem lesions, oozing, bumps, insects, white or other color objects.

If you do not live in Humboldt or Del Norte Counties, you can find your local program at  http://mg.ucanr.edu/FindUs/ 

Pampas grass in landscape

Drive anywhere along the coast this time of year and you will see huge stands of large 6'-10' tall grasses with dramatic pink plumes blowing in the wind like flags. What you are looking at is Jubata Grass or Pampas grass and it has become a real problem in our coastal habitat.

In fact, this well adapted plant will come up just about any place where there is little competition and will quickly establish on bare soil. It forms massive clumps along roadsides, steep cliffs, riverbanks, and open areas that have been disturbed by human activities or natural disturbances. You will notice it in town around parking lots and in that bare spot of dirt near the sidewalk or the edge of the garden. With the ability to grow in many conditions Jubata grass can quickly spread and become out of control.

Introduced to California in 1848 by nursery operators, Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana) became a popular specimen plant with fluffy white plumes used for decorating.  It is not the species causing all the problems. Several decades ago another species, Cortaderia jubata, was introduced and has since become a primary invasive weed in coastal areas of the West. It is generally distinguished by a pinkish flower plume, but otherwise difficult to tell apart from C. selloana. Because it spreads quickly and is miserably impenetrable, it was once used by logging companies to keep deer from eating reforested areas. In the 1960's, Georgia Pacific had to abandon 1,100 acres in Humboldt County where jubata grass had taken over as there was no economical way to control it. At that time 7,000 additional acres were severely infested. Now recognized as incredibly invasive, lawmakers, educators, nurseries, restoration groups and homeowners are uniting in the fight to eradicate the pest.

Dramatic and majestic, Jubata Grass can be hard to dislike. Attractive feathery pinkish plumes appear on top of tall stalks well above a fountain of graceful leaves from July through September. However, we need to educate ourselves and others about the downside of this dramatic invasive plant. Just think… each plant can produce millions of seeds annually that can travel several miles. Once established, the vigorously growing jubata grass pushes out other vegetation and animals already living there. It takes over, clogging waterways and wetlands and causing environmental chaos. When dry, it can be a serious fire hazard. The sharply serrated leaf blades can cause physical harm to animals and humans. They are highly undesirable as food or shelter to birds and other wildlife.

Coastal hillsides covered in invasive Jubata grass

So, how do we control it? We can begin by becoming aware of the problem. Next, we can work to remove any plants that we can. And, we can reduce the “seed bank” by removing flower plumes. In a recent hour spent along the roadside, I bagged over 150 seed plumes, each containing thousands of seed that will not have a change to germinate. Small plants can be pulled quite easily, so carry a pair of work gloves on your next hike.

Plume/Seed head removal: If removing the whole plant seems daunting, consider removing the flower stalks as they emerge to prevent seed dispersal. This will need to be done early and repeatedly throughout the blooming season.  Although the flower plumes are striking, DO NOT pick them for decorations or floral arrangements.The flowing flag of the seed head should be cut and burned to prevent seed dispersal. Alternatively, cut and bag all seed heads as soon as they appear and send the bag to the landfill. Avoid leaving them on the ground or composting them.

Making this trail unusable

Research has shown that burning and grazing do not provide long term control and pampas plants quickly resprout. Biological controls have not been investigated. Glyphosate is the most effective herbicide to reach the deep roots of Jubata and Pampas Grass. Follow manufactures instructions carefully. Protect nearby desirable plants from herbicide spray drift and apply when insects are not active. Do not overspray and avoid runoff into waterways. Please see link below for more information regarding Glyphosate.

Resources: 

UC IPM Glyphosate Link  

University of California Weed Research and Information Center Leaflet 99-1 Link

California Invasive Plant Council Report Link 

California Invasive Plant Council Cortaderia jubata plant profile Link

Pacific Horticulture Article by John Madison - Pampas Grasses: One a Weed and One a Garden Queen Link

Images - permissions granted

 Pampas Grass in Landscape - photo by Sherida Phibbs, UCCE Master Gardener Coordinator
 Coastal hillsides covered in invasive Jubata grass - photo by Annie Sciotte, UCCE Master Gardener
 Making this trail unusable - photo by Annie Sciotte, UCCE Master Gardener