Fall Garden Checklist
Blessed with a temperate climate, the gardener in southern California has much to look forward to even as autumn days blanket on the region. As the days get shorter and the temperature drops, the tableau changes from tropical lushness to the softer colors of cool season blooms. However, the first task is to insure that your garden will have its best start. Frank Burkard, Jr., of Burkard Nurseries in Pasadena, recommends that the soil, sapped of nutrients from the summer planting, be replenished. Before adding soil amendment to planting beds, either in the form of steer manure or organic matter, gardeners should rake up garden debris to control the spread of insects and diseases. The garden is now ready to accept plants.

Burkard provides a checklist for October garden tasks:

• Native plants are best planted during the fall.

• Pansies, Iceland poppies, calendulas and chrysanthemums provide color during the cool months.

• Buy and plant spring bulbs. Chill tulip and hyacinth bulbs in the refrigerator and wait until November to plant them. Although they will bloom without being chilled, they will bloom larger and sooner if chilled.

• Sow seeds of spring-blooming annuals such as sweet peas, larkspur, etc.

• Fertilize azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons with 0-10-10 fertilizer to encourages bud formation. For larger blooms, pick off camellia buds, leaving one per stem.

• Don't forget the winter vegetable garden. Purchase bok choy, lettuce, spinach, beets, carrots, onions, peas, radishes, etc. from seeds or seedlings.