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It's time to get those seedlings in the ground for fall and winter harvest! .   Fall Planting Guide There is still time to plant some food crops in well-drained soil for fall, winter and spring harvest. You can grow more variety if you are willing to provide some protection with frames or row covers. Choose a sunny spot that drains well and select varieties recommended for winter gardening. Things to Do in the Garden Vegetable Planting Guide High-Summer Sages Tender salvias are great for late summer and fall blooming. by Rachel Foster Have you ever wondered how some gardeners manage to keep their borders looking great right up until the first frost? Besides clever planning, maintenance has a lot to do with it. Generous and effective watering. Well-nourished plants. Constant grooming. And, of course, resourceful gardeners "cheat" by filling in any gaps as they develop. Given that we have weeks and weeks of lovely weather still to come, it's certainly not too late to plant. Some plants don't really get going until reliably warm weather arrives, but then they bloom more or less non-stop until they freeze. To get gap-fillers off to a flying start, make generous planting holes by loosening the soil and mixing in some compost and organic fertilizer. And remember to water them in. Some of the very best sources for late summer and fall bloom are the tender salvias. Salvia is the genus to which common culinary sage belongs. It also includes many wonderful hardy perennial species that are (or should be) a mainstay of the perennial garden. But it also contains a number of more or less frost-tender species, many of them from Mexico and the Southwest, that we generally grow as annuals. All bear spikes of tubular, hooded and lipped flowers. Hummingbirds love them. The sages listed below are mostly quite easy to find, and there are many more you may run into. Try some! First, two useful small plants for beds and containers in sun or very light shade. Salvia coccinea 'Lady in Red' has bright red flowers and pungent leaves (it is one of the few annuals untroubled by deer). It appreciates reasonably moist soil and makes a wonderful, elegant annual for sun or partial shade. There is also a pretty coral and pale pink variety of S. coccinea named 'Coral Nymph.' Mealy sage (S. farinacea) is one of my favorite gap-fillers. It is an undramatic plant that blends well with many perennials. 'Victoria' has light purple flowers, 'Cirrus' is white. Compact varieties especially good for pots are 'Rhea', in deep blue-purple, and 'Strata', with purple flowers in white calyces. Mexican sage (Salvia leucantha) is a bushy sun-worshipper with aromatic, velvety gray-green leaves and intriguing spires of bloom that nod a little at the tip. The flowers themselves are generally whitish, but they emerge from a lot of purple fluff (woolly sage is another name for it) so the general effect is lavender-purple. In 'Midnight' the flowers are purple, too. Mexican sage needs a warm position or it may never come into bloom at all. The roots will survive mild Eugene winters in really well-drained soil, but even then it does not begin to flower until the end of the summer. Once it starts, however, it doesn't let up until frost. Pineapple sage (Salvia elegans 'Scarlet Pineapple') makes an impressive, sturdy four-foot bush in one season. The large, hairy leaves are a nice fresh green and really do have a pronounced scent of pineapples. The tubular red flowers appear from August or September. Sometimes you can find large plants of Autumn sage (Salvia greggii), with flowers in delicious colors like raspberry and peach. Wiry stems and small leaves give this one an airy look. Native to Mexico and Texas, it nevertheless often survives our winters, especially in dryish, well-drained soils. If your garden conditions are not suitable, try planting this (or any other marginally hardy salvia) in a whisky barrel. Some salvias have brilliant, true blue flowers. Swamp salvia (Salvia uliginosa) survives most of our winters, making it perhaps the hardiest of the species in this article. This willowy six-footer is very strong-smelling and deer won't go near it. Flowers appear from late July on, in small heads that are quite showy because of their piercing color. Be warned, though, that in rich, moist soil it can run like the dickens. Other blue salvias worth noting include S. guaranitica (five to six feet or more; last time I planted one it grew to eight feet in a matter of weeks) and S. patens, which is usually much smaller but has large vividly blue flowers. These last two can be dug and over-wintered like dahlia tubers. Ann Lovejoy recently published a delightful book entitled The Sage Garden (Chronicle Books). It describes sages both tender and hardy, talks with authority about how and where to grow them and then explores their uses in the kitchen and as health and beauty aids. The last three chapters contain recipes. Pineapple Sage Sorbet, anyone? Or a purifying Double-Sage Sickroom Smudge?   Things To Do in the Food Garden September: € Pick and store winter squash as shells harden € Remove immature fruits from tomatoes, peppers and eggplant € Harvest and dry herbs € Plant globe artichokes, Jerusalem artichoke tubers, French sorrel plants € Cut out raspberry canes that are done fruiting € Clean and fertilize strawberry beds € Make compost € Plant green manure crops as garden space empties, or mulch heavily  October: € Make a cold frame and sow lettuce, mesclun, radishes and spinach € Mulch leeks, turnips, carrots, broccoli and kale for fall and winter harvest. € Cur back chard and leave in ground for early spring leaves € Mulch parsley for winter snipping € Provide protection (row covers or cloches) for late crops € Prepare soil for early spring planting. Make raised beds € Watch for slugs  November: € Secure row covers € Clean tools € Continue composting € Update notebooks and start planning spring garden € Acquire Binda Colebrook's Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest and: - List food plants to start next July and August for fall and winter harvest - List perennial food plants that can be harvested all winter Fall in the Flower Garden September: € Divide and plant perennials € Water in beneficial nematodes where root weevils are a problem € Sow cool-weather annuals and short-lived perennials € Prepare to compost material from fall clean-ups € Buy spring bulbs for fall planting € Plant fall crocus and colchicum € Plant bulbs in outdoor containers as soon as possible € Take cuttings of woody plants  October: € Feed and renovate lawns € Prepare soil for fall and spring planting € Construct new raised beds € Move or divide peonies and oriental poppies € Plant groundcovers, perennials, shrubs and trees € Plant spring bulbs € Bring in houseplants, tender ornamentals € Take geranium cuttings and stand in a bright window November: € Plant trees and shrubs as weather permits € Save leaves of deciduous trees for leaf compost € Sow hardy annuals € Dig gladiolas, dahlias and cannas; store in dry peatmoss or cedar shavings € Plant tulips € Cut back perennials that are no longer ornamental € Begin pruning deciduous trees € Lime lawns that are moss-prone € Clean and store tools and equipment Vegetable Planting Guide VEGETABLE VARIETIES PLANT IN: HOW HARVEST Arugula   Aug-Oct seed winter, spring Beets Kestrel. Lutz August seed winter Broccoli Green Valiant Aug/Sept transplants Fall, early winter Purple Sprouting Aug-Oct transplants Late winter, spring Cabbage, spring Springtime Aug/Sept seed Winter, spring Carrots Merida September seed Spring   Autumn King August seed Winter Cauliflower Nomad August transplants Winter Chard Rhubarb August seed, transplnts Winter, spring Collards Champion September seed, transplnts Winter, spring Coriander   Aug/Sept seed Fall thru spring Corn salad Valgros Sept/Oct seed* Winter Endive President August seed, transplants* Winter Fava Beans Sweet Lorane Sept-Nov seed Early summer Garlic   October cloves Mid-late summer Kale Winter Red August seed Winter, spring Lettuce Optima Aug/Sept seed, transplants* Fall, winter Mustard Green Wave Aug/Sept seed, transplants* Winter Peas Utrillo, Cascadia Aug-Nov seed Fall, spring Radish Tricolor Sept/Oct seed Winter,spring Scallions Winter White August seed Winter, spring Shallots   October bulbs Early summer Spinach Olympia Aug/Sept Seed, transplants* Winter Turnips Purple Top August seed Winter/spring *Cover to prolong harvest period Sources: Territorial Seed Company Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest by Binda Colebrook (Sasquatch) Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon (Sasquatch) Lane County Extension Service Table of Contents | News | Views | Arts & Entertainment Classifieds | Personals | EW Archive