By Karen Chang, U. C. Master Gardener 

Someone told me that the large number of cobwebs in his boxwood hedge foretold an early autumn. True or not, it seems as though summer is already over with that stretch of cool weather in September and the trees already showing fall color. Some poplars along the Silverado Trail are a golden yellow, and scarlet maple, Chinese pistache and liquidambar are turning red and orange.

Our rainy season will start soon, so finish your summer harvest and your garden cleanup. It?s a good time to plant perennials as roots can get established while the soil is still warm, and water needs won?t be as heavy during the cooler days.

Soil management: Prepare holes for bare-root planting now. By the time these plants appear in nurseries in December and January, the soil may be too wet for digging. Have compost delivered now while the ground is dry and hard. Keep watering lawns and evergreens until steady rains start.

Inspect the garden for places where ground water could collect and provide drainage as needed. Waterlogged soil is bad for plant roots, and mold and pathogens flourish when the soil is wet for a long time.

Planting: Plant artichoke and asparagus crowns, onion, garlic and shallot sets. Sow these vegetable seeds directly into the soil: carrots, chard, fava beans, lettuce, mustard, peas, radish, spinach and root vegetables. Keep the soil surface moist until seedlings are established. Set out the seedlings of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and celery that you started in September.

There is still time to plant hardy perennials like campanula, candytuft, columbine, delphinium, foxglove and verbascum. But get them into the ground as soon as possible so that they will develop plenty of roots to support a spring show.

Plant trees, shrubs and vines from containers. Consider California native perennials and plants from other Mediterranean climates. They are suited to our climate, requiring less water and fertilizer to thrive.

Maintenance: Thin the buds on camellias as they usually produce too many. Mulch rhododendrons and azaleas. Divide overgrown clumps of agapanthus, asters, callas, daylilies, phlox and Shasta daisies. Remove diseased rose leaves and dispose of them in the garbage, not in the compost bin. Home compost will usually not reach a high-enough temperature to kill pathogens and weed seed.

Clean up spent annuals and vegetables, leaves and trimmings. Add to the compost pile instead of leaving them in the garden to draw snails, slugs and earwigs.

Harvest: Bring in the last of the summer crops: beans, carrots, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, lettuce, lima beans, melons, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, root vegetables, shallots, summer squash, Swiss chard and tomatoes. Pick the last of the late apple varieties, figs and October peaches.