What you can do for your garden in late summer in the Bay area

Since the summer approaches and the cooler temperatures indicate arrival, garden lovers in the Bay Area have an ideal window to prepare for a successful autumn season. The proper planning in late summer, from planting vegetables with a cool season to the curtails of trees and the control of pests can bring healthy growth and an abundant harvest for your garden.

The following tips from the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Sloat Garden Center and Garden Design are a good start for a great autumn harvest.

Plan and plant your autumn vegetable garden

• From September you can plant broccoli, cabbage, salad, celery, kale, collards, peas and chard in East Bay.
• Turn plants to avoid the same varieties plant for successive seasons in the same place.
• Choose Dürretolerant plants that attract butterflies. Visit nectar sources such as Lantana for adults and guest factors such as local Wilchbaum, California, buckwheat or dill for caterpillars.
• Start with the planting of refrigerated season plants, including Cole plants such as broccoli, mustard and cabbage as well as beets, carrots, salad, green onions, potatoes and peas. In hotter climates, the UC Master Gardener program from Alameda County recommends that you delay plants by September.
• Start seeds of the cool seasonal year books such as Calendula and stocks. Still add cool season plants in autumn.
• Put the cool year of the season, including pansies, primrose and bearings, but wait except for cooler months in warmer regions. (You can find more information in the monthly guide from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.)
• Support high and ruin vegetables with cages, inserts or bars to prevent crop loss.
• Take away the summer plants and add the compost to plant residues unless you are ill.