Basil stays fresh for about a week in a vase on the kitchen counter. (Photo: PickPic.com)

Tasks

• Monitor soil moisture after rain and water if needed, especially for trees and shrubs.
• Renovate cool-season lawns – remove thatch and aerate.
• Hand pick snails and slugs in the early morning or use bait. Avoid baits that contain metaldehyde as they are toxic to all vertebrates.
• Monitor drainage after watering container plants to be sure plant roots are not standing in water.

Pruning

• Sharpen your pruning tools in preparation for fall pruning.

Fertilizing

• Do not feed citrus and other frost-tender plants.

Planting

• Fall planting continues.
• Annuals: stock (Matthiola incana), forget-me-not (Myosotis), Iceland poppy (Papaver nudicaule), pansy, violet.
• Fruits and vegetables: Swiss chard, turnips, snow peas (plant from seed).
• Perennials: lupine (Lupinus) (plant from seed).
• Trees, shrubs, vines: sago palm (Cycas), Ceanothus maritimus ‘Valley Violet', magnolia, myrtle (Myrtus), flowering cherry (Prunus), oak (Quercus).

Enjoy now

• Annuals and perennials: dianthus, aster (fall-blooming), Mexican blue sage (Salvia leucantha), pansy (Viola).
• Bulbs, corms, tubers: spider lily (Lycoris), Sternbergia lutea.
• Trees, shrubs, vines: Texas ranger (Leucophyllum), sweet orange (Osmanthus), cape plumbago, snowberry (Symphoricarpos).
• Fruits and vegetables: apples, bok choy, cantaloupe, persimmon, snap peas, tomatoes.
• Fall color: goldenrain tree (Koelreuteria).

Things to ponder

• Use organic mulch around permanent plants and add organic matter into soil to prepare beds for spring planting.
• To discourage spider mites, spray hedges and shrubs with water to clean them and keep them free of dust.