By Tamara Galbraith

Almaden Valley Nursey has our organic potato "seeds" out for purchase now. You can get anything from California Whites to Yukon Reds. Whatever the variety, make sure the seeds you purchase are marked as "certified" and are firm and unsprouted. Now is the time to start spuds.

If the seed potatoes are small- to medium-sized, plant the whole potato. If they are larger--say, bigger than your fist--you can cut them into pieces, ensuring each section has two or three "eyes" or growth bumps. After cutting, let the potatoes cure for a day or two, so the cut surface calluses over. You can also let them start to sprout in a warm indoor area to give them a head start before planting.

A fun and easy way to grow potatoes is in an above-ground bin, a method that has been popular with Scandinavians for hundreds of years. This a great growing alternative for those of us with small backyards.

The container can be almost anything, from a garbage bag, wire cage, or trash can to a stack of clean tires. Whatever container you choose should be at least 2' in diameter and 4' feet tall. Garden or potting soil is placed in the bottom. Bury the seeds, cut side down, about two inches deep and one foot apart and cover with a thick (12") layer of chopped leaves or straw. Water thoroughly and make sure that whatever container you use has adequate drainage; for example, a garbage bag will need to have holes punched in the bottom.

As the potatoes sprout and the foliage begins to emerge above the soil, straw and water, add more chopped leaves or straw and water weekly. Continue to add material as the foliage gets taller, always leaving about 2 inches of the plant showing. Potatoes generally take about 100 days to mature, but you can harvest them as soon as the spuds are big enough to eat. However, a good gauge of knowing when your potatoes are close to mature (when they must be harvested) is when the plants turn brown and die. At that point, you should let everything sit for two weeks as the potatoes complete their final bit of curing. Then harvest your spuds gently, and enjoy!

A basket of blooming paperwhite narcissus is the perfect gift for anyone--teachers, coworkers, friends or family.

To make your own narcissus basket you will need premium bulbs of paperwhites.

• Choose a suitable basket or pot (about 6-9 inches in diameter and 3-4 inches high).
• Line the basket with a circle of heavy-gauge (4 millimeter) plastic sheeting and cut to fit. (You may also line the basket with any shallow container with no drainage holes.)
• Fill the plastic (or container) halfway to the top with pebbles or gravel.
• Add 6-8 bulbs, with the pointed side up and with their sides touching.
• Fill in with more pebbles to hold them upright.
• Cover the pebbles with sphagnum moss (optional).
• Add water to the base of the bulbs. (Do not fill too high or bulbs may rot).
• Continue to water as necessary to keep the water at that level.
• Cover the basket with an upside-down cardboard box.
• Place in a cool spot for one and a half weeks or until sprouts are 3-4 inches tall.
• Uncover the basket and place it in a sunny window until the flowers open.
• Turn it daily for even growth.

Enjoy the narcissus basket in the house during winter or give it as a gift!

In the rush to celebrate Halloween, and do the early shopping for Christmas, often Thanksgiving becomes merely about football and feasting. We need to think ahead to be prepared not only with fine food and football snacks, but with an ambience that truly reflects the meaning of this holiday. So begin drying your lavender, hydrangeas, and herbs now by hanging them upside down in a warm, dry and dark location--first removing the leaves. Bunch them with seasonally colored ribbons, and hang them in unexpected nooks for surprise texture and aroma. Collect small branches, spray paint them white, and create a forest of "snowy" branches that can be tied with a bright ribbon and hung on the front door. Be plentiful with pumpkins, gourds, fall squash, and Indian corn on your front porch, and luminarias leading up the stairs; the party should start before the door is even opened!

Almaden Valley Nursery has a vast amount of pre-made decorations as well as all of the ingredients you need to out-do Martha Stewart herself. In fact, holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas provide off-season income for such centers, and you will find that they are often so creative that your own imagination is inspired.

Take a walk around your home. Start collecting colorful leaves that have just drifted to the ground. They should be sturdy leaves with thick stems. When you've collected 30-40 of them, staple them to an orange or red ribbon and hang them across the front of your mantle. A walk in the woods will yield lots of pine cones, which can be used in your table's centerpiece; buy an inexpensive cornucopia made of woven reeds and fill it literally to overflowing with pine cones, gourds, mini-pumpkins, even pears, apples and citrus.

The original cornucopias were made of a curved goat's horn filled with fruit and ears of grain, a decorative motif emblematic of abundance. Scatter cranberries on the table, and slice lemons and limes in segments, arranging them in an arcing form on one of your prettiest salad plates. Intersperse the citrus with blueberries, and watch how they will be used in various beverages on the menu. Keep the palette of your table colorful, and the dinnerware neutral. The goal is color and plenty.

Don't wait until December to put your mini-lights to use; drape them across the center of your table, or along the top of your mantle. Curve the wires and in each "alcove" place a pine cone that you've spray painted white. Adorn with red berries that you've either found in your outdoor wanderings, or purchased in the craft department of your local garden center.

Place cards may be fancy or a family affair. Print out personalized place cards that you can find on many websites. Or to give your guests a sparkly and homemade welcome, several days before feast day, write each guest's name in glue onto cardboard place cards. Then sprinkle the glue with glitter in colors of gold, bronze, or red. Tip to get rid of the excess glitter, and allow the cards to dry for at least 24 hours. Then sit the kids down with seasonal magazines and have them cut out the images that most remind them of Thanksgiving. Pasting the overlapping pictures around the edges of the guest's name card will give it the look of collage.

Using the good napkins? Roll up each one and wrap it with some raffia rather than a traditional napkin ring.

And here's a fun and fabulous family tradition to begin this year. At the beginning of November, buy a large piece of white poster paper and some brightly colored construction paper. Draw a tree with as many different branches as you can manage. Cut the construction paper into leaf shapes (the children can draw an outline of their hands for the perfect leaf). Every day, one member of the family selects a leaf, writes something he or she is grateful for, and pastes the leaf onto the tree. On Thanksgiving Day, the entire family may offer thanks for the items listed on the tree.

In between the madness of removing and storing the Halloween decorations, and choosing and decorating the Christmas tree, take time this year to rediscover Thanksgiving, and celebrate it with the beauty of both handcrafted and store-bought decorations. Our garden center experts will be able to guide you towards the creation of what will become your favorite day of the year!

By Tamara Galbraith

Nowadays, Americans are eating five times more fresh spinach than we did in the 1970s. And forget about the canned, slimy stuff Popeye downed in one shot back in the old days; we now prefer our spinach fresh.

And what could be fresher than growing it yourself? The cool temperatures of autumn are perfect for optimum spinach production. Those of us gardening in warmer regions grow spinach through the winter, as long as temps stay above 25 degrees. A light frost will not hurt it.

There are generally two types of spinach: smooth or savoyed. Smooth types are more tender and are best for salads, while the crinkly leaves of savoy spinach can be rubbery and are better for cooking. Some spinach cultivars walk the line between smooth and savoyed and are pretty yummy either raw or cooked.

If you're starting your spinach from seed, soak the seeds in a plastic baggie overnight in the refrigerator before planting. This will soften the hard coating of the seed and allow better germination. Place transplants about six inches apart, and make sure the soil stays moist and cool. The biggest enemy of spinach is heat, so use shade cloth if temperatures rise dramatically during the day. Mulch is also a good addition for keeping the soil cool. Spinach, like lettuce, does well in containers--with the advantage that you can move them into shadier areas if it gets too warm.

You can harvest spinach by individual leaves or by cropping off the entire plant at the base. As long as temperatures remain cool, the plant will continue to produce leaves...and keep those delicious spinach salads coming.

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What does the term conifer mean?

Answer:
Conifers are a diverse group of plants and trees, ranging from tiny dwarf specimens to the tallest trees known. They produce narrow needle-like foliage instead of leaves and often produce cones or berries.

Most conifers are evergreen--for example, arborvitae cedars, cypress, firs, junipers, pines, redwoods and spruce. But there are some species of deciduous conifers that lose their leaves in the winter, including varieties of larch, dawn redwood and swamp cypress.

Conifer foliage color comes in tones of greens, blues and yellows. Some are variegated and some are a different color in winter and summer.

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