By Karen Chang, U. C. Master Gardener

Deprive slugs and snails of a winter home by removing litter, lumber and pots. An early rain may make the soil easier to dig, but don't plant those last daffodil bulbs—or anything else—in saturated soil.

 Soil management

• Before the rains make soil soggy, dig holes for any bare-root trees and shrubs that you expect to buy and plant in January.
• If your garden beds are not planted with fall and winter crops, consider planting a cover crop to build soil tilth and fertility. For guidance, consult the article on cover crops on the Napa County Master Gardener web site (http://groups.ucanr.org/mgnapa/Articles/Cover_Crops.htm).
• Trees and shrubs are going dormant, so stop watering them. Evergreen plants and perennials that were recently planted may still need water, especially if rains are late or light.

Planting

• Sow these vegetable seeds directly in the soil: carrots, fava beans, garlic, onions, radishes, shallots and spinach.
• Set out seedlings of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce and crowns of artichokes and asparagus.
• Plant wildflower seeds, alyssum, calendula, larkspur, poppies, sweet peas and love-in-a-mist for spring bloom.
• Plant seedlings of bachelor buttons, calendula, columbine, dianthus, pansy, primrose, snapdragon, stock and viola, also for spring bloom.
• You can still plant trees and shrubs from containers.

Maintenance

• Don't prune evergreen trees and shrubs, roses or vines now. Pruning stimulates new growth, which could be damaged by frost. However, you can remove any dead or sick growth. Dispose of it in the garbage, not the compost.
• Prune apricot trees before the winter rains to avoid Eutypa fungus. You can prune the tree while it still has leaves.
• November is the time for the first dormant spray for fruit trees and roses. Dormant-oil sprays kill over-wintering insect eggs, mites, soft-bodied insects and some scales. Peaches and nectarines also need a spray of fixed copper or Bordeaux mixture to prevent peach leaf curl. For complete coverage, spray the branches, branch crotches, trunk and ground beneath the drip line.
• Keep leaves and litter picked up to discourage garden pests from wintering over. Dispose of diseased leaves and trimmings in the garbage. Save some of the dried leaves in plastic bags as brown material for future compost piles in the spring or summer when dry material is scarcer.

Harvest

• Bring in the late summer and fall crops: broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, peas, potatoes, radish, spinach, root crops and winter squash.
• Pick persimmons and pomegranates when the leaves have changed color and begun to fall. Guavas and olives are also ready now.