SAN DIEGO — With the arrival of Fall, it's time to refresh our Grangetto's Garden Box in our Backlot Studio and it's a reminder for you to do the same in your home garden.
CBS 8's Shawn Styles likes to start by seeing what can be salvaged from the summer planting and what has to go. Usually, most of the herbs will be able to stay except for the annuals. Once your remove the annuals and clean up the box, it is time to get the soil ready for some new plants.
You will want to be sure to turn the soil over completely, and it is also a good time to add some compost and organic fertilizer making sure it's thoroughly mixed in. Be sure to know where your sunlight is going to be as the days are getting shorter and orienting the way you plant your herbs and vegetables will make a difference.
Shawn suggests keeping the herbs to the front as they tend to be shorter and then planting the taller vegetables towards the back. Root veggies next, beets and carrots are great. You can get beets already started or you can go with seeds when it comes to carrots. There are options with carrots beyond your standard orange colors and it may be fun to go with the multicolored ones.
If you like leafy greens, SoCal Winters are perfect for them, and instead of waiting for the head to become full, pick off the outer leaves as needed for a salad. Now if you're really ambitious, go for some cauliflower or broccoli. While the cauliflower is good, it produces just one head, while the broccoli, after the first cut will continue to send out little spears. Just remember that it can get dry and hot quickly due to Santa Ana's so pay attention to watering but also make sure you don't over water.
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