I stand corrected. There is not a "fall" in San Diego. There is a cool season and a warm season. And that's that.
I did learn more than that though at a free workshop put on by San Diego Food Not Lawns that I attended this past Saturday about how to plan your cool season garden (or "winter garden" if you love seasons so much you can't accept the fact that the city you live in has only 2). One thing that is great about having only 2 seasons is that I can still start a winter garden and it is almost November!
Cool Season Super Plants:
Fava Beans
Kale
Mustards
Peas
Artichokes
Fennel
Legumes
Dandelion Greens
Chard
Lettuces
Spinach
Yum, now don't those look like an appetizing bunch...
My one foodie fallback is that I don't particularly like dark leafy greens. And I certainly don't want to be growing them on TOP of getting them in the CSA box. So, I am thinking of trying fennel, snap peas, fava beans and possibly some new and different types of lettuce. I will also intersperse the vegetable plantings with some edible flowers because it brings wonderful color to the garden and biodiversity. Biodiversity is crucial to a happy environment for plants. Diverse plants add different nutrients to the soil and attract helpful (and sometimes harmful) bugs that pollinate the blooms, ward away predators and aid in keeping your plants healthy.
Even though I don't have an "in the ground" garden, I did find it interesting that planting legumes, like fava beans, in the winter can help restore your garden soil with nitrogen and prep it for the spring. The legumes act as a cover crop because their roots have nitrogen fixing bacteria that is stored in the nodules. When the crop is finished for the season you just let it die and leave the plants to act as compost for the soil.
Did you know that your dried up summer artichokes can revive themselves in the fall and begin producing again in the spring? (To: Lila) So, maybe you will get some arties next spring!
I think next weekend will be a spooktacular time to start planting. :)
Marci
Why does Pioneer Woman always have a new recipe up for something I have in abundance? (first squash, and now pears) I might have to try it this week.
Ha, I think it's funny you look at pioneer woman for recipes involving fruits and veggies. I went straight for the flower, sugar, egg-based recipes. I made Ryan a pretty good tres leches birthday cake from a recipe on her blog. There were no CSA veggies to be found in it, thank god!
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