January
January is time to plant garlic, onion, and shallot bulbs.It's time also to prune roses. By the way, if you have plants that have been damaged by frost (like our kiwi vines), do not prune off the damaged parts. They may be ugly, but they'll help protect the rest of the plant from further frost damage.
Rake your lawn and/or your neighbors' lawns for leaves for your compost pile.
Once all the leaves have fallen from your fruit trees, you can prune them. While you are pruning your deciduous trees you can also trim your conifers.
Purchase and plant bare-root roses, fruit trees, vines, and veggies. Camellias and Azaleas, too.
Spray your roses and deciduous trees with a dormant spray.
Order seeds and supplies from seed catalogs.
Start seeds indoors for:
- Peppers and Eggplant -- 8 to 12 weeks before the last frost.
- Lettuce -- 8 to 12 weeks before the last frost. Lettuces can be transplanted into the garden a month or so before the last frost.
February
February is just about the last chance to plant peas. Also plant mesclun, lettuce, beets, cole veggies (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale), radishes, Swiss chard, turnips, carrots, and potatoes.
Choose the Right Carrot Variety for your Soil
When choosing carrot varieties, consider the heaviness of your soil. Sow short, stubby carrots in heavy clay soils and longer, tapered ones in looser sandy soil. Tips of the tap roots will grow four to six inches further down than the edible portion.
Plant bare-root asparagus, horseradish and artichokes.When choosing carrot varieties, consider the heaviness of your soil. Sow short, stubby carrots in heavy clay soils and longer, tapered ones in looser sandy soil. Tips of the tap roots will grow four to six inches further down than the edible portion.
Prune fruit trees if you haven't already. Feed them. Mulch avocado trees.
Make a compost pile.
Start seeds indoors for:
- Cole crops (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage) -- 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost. That would be the first part of February. These can be transplanted into the garden two weeks or so before the last frost.
- Tomatoes -- 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost. That would be mid February.
March
Plant veggies indoors and out.Plant summer veggies.
Fertilize lawns.
Begin to fertilize citrus and avocado.
Plant cool-season vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, spinach, radishes, Asian greens, lettuce, and parsley.
Harden-off tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants by moving them outside, beneath a plastic cover or inside a cold frame. Plant them in the garden after the last possible frost.
Prune away frost-damaged areas on citrus.
April
Give flowers and vegetables a foliar feeding of liquid seaweed or compost tea; spray the liquid nutrients on foliage early in the day before it gets too hot.Plant black-eyed, purple hull and crowder peas, okra, peanuts, sweet potatoes, squash, melons, cucumbers, and corn—all can withstand the heat that will arrive in less than 2 months.
Keep planting basil—it loves the warm weather.
Keep adding kitchen scraps and grass clippings to your compost pile.
Replenish your mulch!
If slugs and snails are decimating your plants, collect them in the evening, when you're most likely to spot them.
Plant pumpkins, summer squash, melons, and other vegetables that thrive in heat.
Every 2 weeks from now until late summer, plant small blocks of bush beans and sweet corn to extend the harvest until frost.
Thin fruits on fruit trees to increase their size and keep branches from breaking.
Sow seeds of nasturtiums, marigolds, portulaca, amaranthus, salvias, vinca (Catharanthus roseus), sunflowers, and zinnias.
Attract beneficial insects to your garden: provide them with their chosen foods and habitats. Umbelliferae family members such as anise, carrot, caraway, coriander, dill, fennel and parsley, with many tiny flowers arranged in tight umbels, and those in the Asteraceae (Compositae) family, such as black-eyed Susan, goldenrod, and strawflower, with a central disc flowers surrounded by many ray petals, attract many beneficials. Mustard flowers attract lacewings that control aphids and parasitic wasps that keep down cabbage caterpillars and coddling moths.
May
Plant heat-tolerant tomatoes. 'Sweet 100' is a good choice.
Plant eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, squash, okra, beans, sweet potatoes, melons, and southern peas this month.
Give new plantings plenty of water.
Continue planting daisies, asters, coreopsis, marigolds, and sunflowers—they nourish the beneficial insects, which will help keep pests in check.
Check your drip irrigation system—you'll need it soon.
As the weather warms:
Plant last runs of lettuce, choosing heat-tolerant varieties that are slow to go to seed.
Start new plantings of melons, squash, dried beans, okra, and southern peas that thrive in heat.
Use drip irrigation to provide a constant supply of moisture to beds
Mulch with organic materials: dried grass clippings, pine needles, or leaves.
June
Work compost into beds, then plant fall crops of peppers and eggplant.
Direct-seed collards and tomatoes for fall harvest.
Continue to plant vegetables and herbs -- cantaloupes, corn, cucumbers, okra, peanuts, southern peas, summer squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and bush beans. Also plant basil, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme and other heat-lovers. Continue planting sweet corn in small blocks, every 2 weeks for continuous harvest through fall.
Thin fruit on trees early in the month, after June drop; mulch root area with a thin layer of compost, topped with 3 inches of organic mulch.
Look for slow-moving bugs in the cool of the morning; hand-pick them, then dust below the plants with diatomaceous earth (be sure to use a dust mask so you don't inhale the dust).
Water plants in the morning so they don't become susceptible to fungus and insect infestation.
Stop watering onions and garlic grown for bulbs when leaves being to turn yellow. Dig bulbs when tops have fallen over and place in a shady, well ventilated area to cure.
Wash fruit trees periodically with a forceful spray of water to remove dust, honeydew and pests like aphids, whiteflies and spider mites.
Kill pests and disease in vacant beds by covering moist soil with clear plastic for several weeks.
Harvest your summer vegetables as soon as they are ready. Don't let them rot and drop to the ground. This can bring insects and disease. See our harvest guide.
Prune back perennial herbs like rosemary. Continue to harvest as herbs mature.
Continue to feed avocado and citrus trees. Check for pests and diseases. Irrigate as needed to maintain adequate soil moisture. Watch for chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves between the veins, a sign of iron deficiency). Feed with a good iron supplement such as Ironite.
Fertilize Plumeria with a low nitrogen fertilizer. Plant new or re-pot plants to replace old soil with a fresh mix.
July
Set out fall tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants late this month.
Sow Halloween pumpkins.
Clean up the garden, then mulch the bare soil to conserve moisture.
Tend the compost pile so it will be ready to work into the soil in preparation for fall planting.
Add 2 to 3 inches of mulch to retain water.
Keep roses well watered to promote bloom into late fall.
Early in the month, cover fruit trees with nets to protect fruit from birds.
Protect peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, and lettuce from sun scald by providing partial shade.
Start seeds of collards, okra, eggplant, southern peas, and heat-resistant tomatoes.
When working outdoors in heat, take frequent breaks and drink plenty of water.
August
In southern California the main garden chores for August are watering, harvesting, and pest control.In the first part of the month, any summer vegetable can be planted. Especially those that love the heat: Okra, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, watermelons, squash and really any crop that will finish before the days get too short in the fall. We'll be direct seeding Okra, squash, limas, dill, basil, and cukes; setting out transplants of the others.
Near the middle of the month, we will be starting our fall crops from seeds for transplant in September and October: broccoli, cabbage, kale, and cauliflower.
Give your roses a light pruning.
Feed fushias, ferns, tropicals, roses.
Do not fertilize deciduous fruit trees.
Prune berries.
We also prune our deciduous fruit trees after the last peaches come off the trees. This mostly is to control the size of the trees. We will prune again in January.
Gather and dry herbs.
Apply compost and mulch to retain moisture in the soil.
Shade plants that may need afternoon protection from the hot sun.
August is a good time to solarize empty beds to kill weed seeds and disease pathogens: Water the soil thoroughly, then seal it with clear plastic for 6 to 8 weeks.
September
Plant seeds (peas, carrots, beets, lettuce, cucurbits, herbs) and fall transplants (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale).
Begin to plant lilies and Spring-blooming bulbs--daffodils and tulips.
Feed fuchsias, ferns, tropicals, roses.
Clean up faded flowers. Start cleanup for perennials.
Continue to harvest Valencia oranges.
Prune poinsettias for holiday bloom.
Plant okra. It’s your last chance of the season.
Add soil amendments (bone meal, blood meal, compost).
October
As the weather begins to cool here in Southern California, it's time to plant fall and early spring crops.
Sow seeds:
- fava beans
- beets
- celery
- chard
- chives
- garlic
- kale
- kohlrabi
- leeks
- lettuce
- romaine
- bibb
- buttercrunch
- onions
- green
- long-day
- parsley
- peas
- radishes
- spinach
- shallots
Transplant:
- artichokes
- asparagus
- broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- cabbage
- cauliflower
- strawberries
- horseradish
- Macadamia nuts (those fallen to the ground)
- Squash
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