1. Transplant landscape trees and shrubs.
2. Plant a basket of narcissus for holiday bloom.
3. Protect built-in sprinkler systems: drain the system, insulate the valve mechanisms.
4. Tie limbs of upright evergreens to prevent breakage by snow or ice.
5. Open up spaces in dense trees to allow wind to pass through.
6. Rake and destroy leaves from fruit trees that were diseased this year. Remove mummified fruit.
7. Prune acacias.
8. Prune cane berries other than low-chill raspberries.
9. Cut back chrysanthemums after bloom; clean up the ground.
10. Plant window garden of lettuce, chives, parsley.
11. Plant shrubs and trees that supply winter food and shelter to birds.
12. Water bulbs, especially potted ones.
13. Bait flower beds for cutworms, slugs and snails.
14. Stake young trees loosely so they can develop strong trunks.
15. Wrap the trunks of young trees with an insulating material to protect them from cold.
16. Mulch, mulch, and mulch some more.

If your garden needs a little 'oomph' this time of year, try California fuchsia.

Now, at The Collector's Corner, we're featuring this charming, tough, hummingbird magnet! A California native plant, Zauschneria californica blooms when other plants are winding down.

Its tubular 1-2" long bright orange-red flowers are showy above the 8" high silvery foliage in late summer and fall, giving "hummers" a good reason to stick around a bit longer before flying to more generous climes for the winter.

The foliage and dazzling flowers will keep your interest, too!

California fuchsia is partially deciduous. It spreads to two feet or more, and is drought tolerant once established.

You can find it and other fascinating plants in The Collector's Corner.

All we are doing when we make compost is putting back into the earth what we've taken out of it. It's easy! It can be as simple as mowing the lawn and leaving the clippings on--the green stuff is nitrogen! (Just be sure the clippings are small--if you've let the lawn get long and don't have a mulching mower, go back over the mowed area once or twice for the same effect.)

To understand the principles of composting, it will be helpful to understand soil matter. If you're out in the woods, for example, what you see on the top is leaves and decaying plant parts. Dig a little deeper and the material is less easy to identify, since visible and microscopic organisms have been busy digesting the organic matter. The end product is humus--food for the micro-organisms which release the nutrients for your plants. Once the easily eaten parts are gone, humus can last in the soil for centuries. It is this form of humus that improves the soil's structure and its ability to hold water and nutrients.

In making compost, the idea is to keep a balance of carbon (the "brown stuff" such as old leaves and stems) and nitrogen (the "green stuff" such as lawn clippings). You can also add raw kitchen scraps such as fruits and vegetables. No animal waste, meats, or cooked foods--or you may have larger guests than planned! Beetles and worms are a good sign--large scavengers are not.

Soil micro-organisms and plants need water, warmth, oxygen, moderate pH and the balanced supply of nutrients from the organic matter.

When you build compost in a pile, think of lasagna. Add materials a few inches deep, then about a 6" layer of soil after each addition. Let it sit and you're making what's called "cold compost." On its own, it will take about a year--but you can have several piles going at once. Different textures allow more air circulation. Turning the pile will speed things up--which brings us to the other method, called "hot composting."

Hot composting is faster. The more a pile is turned, the faster you have your finished product. Turning, adding water, and balancing carbon and nitrogen encourages organisms to reproduce rapidly, causing the pile to heat up. The temperature in the center of the pile can reach 160° and can kill off weed seeds, disease organisms and roots.

Compost tumblers are popular because they work so quickly and are easy to turn. You can also make bins from large garbage cans and other containers. Make sure the bin is elevated for drainage, and punch holes in the side and bottom for air circulation. A larger bin (around 3' tall, wide, and deep) is better for getting best mass for proper composition--but the smaller bins will work.

Watching for problems

• Ants? That means the pile is probably too dry.
• Odor? It's too wet. Add more carbon (brown stuff) and turn to let in more air
• Seedlings sprouting? It's not hot enough. Avoid adding anything containing seed or make sure seeds are in the center of the pile.

No time and still want to do your part? If you have leftover salads, etc.--just dig a small hole and bury them. Or just fling an apple core or banana peel into the bushes!

Another method is to "compost as you go." When removing old plants, dead annuals, and such, just put them in little piles in an area where you will be working later. By the time you get to it, it's often starting to break down. You can work in what's left later or shake it off and discard or add larger pieces to your main pile. Anything we put back is enriching our soil.

For fun make compost tea. Put a shovelful of compost in a burlap bag. Tie it closed. Submerge in a bucket, garbage can, or other container with water. Put a cover on and let it steep a few days. Then pour around plants. Dilute to the color of weak tea and use as a foliar feed. Use the solids as mulch or put them back in the compost pile.

Sounds like too much? If you do not want all the work of composting yourself, but still want to help the soil naturally, try Dr. Earth products, with microbes already added. You can also mix them with your compost to help get it started. Whatever method you use will help your soil.

One of the most frequently asked garden questions is, "How often do I water?" We would love to give you a schedule to go by, but in actual fact, it's a very difficult question to answer.

The only real correct answer is "water as needed"--and even that is difficult to define.

How much water a plant needs depends on the weather, of course, and also the conditions in which it is growing. Is your soil clay or sandy; is the area hot and sunny with maybe some wind, or shady and cool? Many things enter into a plant's watering needs.

Watering should be done thoroughly but infrequently. Watering too lightly will prevent the roots from growing deeply enough, and too much heavy watering can drown them!

A plant's roots need air as well as water and nutrients. It's important to wet the entire root zone. This would mean anywhere from a few inches for small plants to several feet for large trees. Most lawn grass roots will be in the top 6"-8", shrubs about 18", and trees 30" or more. You can dig down after watering to check. The water should penetrate to the depth that the roots should be. The goal is to water often enough for the roots to be moist--not water logged. Remember they need air as well.

Sprinkling is the most like natural rainfall. You can use an inexpensive hose attachment or have a system installed.

To soak trees and shrubs it may help to form a berm at the drip line. Fill and let the water soak in, or lay a hose about one foot from the trunk and let it just barely trickle for several hours.

If a plant starts yellowing and losing leaves within the first month (especially the first week), it is usually because water is not penetrating the root ball. Check new plantings daily until they become established.

When a plant is under stress, it's usually way too wet or way too dry. One extreme or the other, the symptoms can be the same. That's where digging a little hole and checking the root zone is a simple way to find out. Just dig in and look!

Garden Terms:

Run-off: The soil is unable to absorb water as fast as it is applied --much like a "downpour" compared to a gentle rain.

Percolation: A term for how water moves or "percolates" down through the soil.

Can't decide what to get that special person in your life? Stop fooling around and get the gift everyone is asking for: the totally awesome Almaden Valley Nursery Gift Certificate! The person you purchase it for will be forever grateful for receiving such a wonderful and incredible gift! Totally awesome AVN Gift Certificates are available in any amount, for any budget.

SJ (Sarah Jane) Phillips

SJ was born and raised in South Africa, where she quickly developed a love of nature and a sense of adventure. On a dare from a friend, she once climbed into the hippo pen at the Pretoria Zoo and spanked a hippo's backside.

She loves to travel and once was picked up by a crazy watermelon vendor while hitchhiking in Turkey. She has had her share of mishaps, with her car breaking down in the middle of a wild game preserve in South Africa and being stung by a scorpion.

She combined her talent for theft with her passion for wildlife by stealing turtles from poachers and releasing them back into to ocean with friends. Her favorite camping moment was eating fresh crab with a pair of pliers on the coast of Mozambique.

SJ enjoys the outdoors and, when not traveling to exotic places, enjoys hiking, tasting different foods, driving on back roads and getting lost with her hubby Graham.