Gardening in the SCV, ctd

Lots of good reader comments & advice on my post about my garden plot. First up, a note from a local blogger who has an entire blog about gardening in Santa Clarita that you should visit:

My blog is farmingsantaclarita.wordpress.com.  The Community Gardens of SC have been a really great addition to Central Park.  I knew absolutely nothing about gardening before starting there.  We get a 10x10 plot for 50 bucks a year.  It is too late for zucchini, but a perfect time to put in spinach, cabbage, lettuce, onions, carrot and more.  There is a free class this Saturday at the Community Gardens that is all about putting in winter crops.  Enjoy.

Good to know. I've added your blog to my reader list.

The place we're gardening in has tons of rabbits. How do we prevent our garden from turning into this? Is it as simple as installing a fence or do we need more sophisticated methods? Or am I getting ahead of myself?

Calling all SCV coyotes

Another reader:

GardenWeb is a great site for all things gardening.  I consult frequently.  Also get yourself a subscription to Sunset Magazine... but be warned, their climate zones (18 for SCV) are different than the USDA (9B) ones, so if you're planting based on that, make sure you match appropriately.

You can do potatoes if you want, you basically create an "above ground" enclave for them out of straw.  And really the best part is that they're not all dirty at the end!  But its sorta the wrong season.

You joke about the hydroponics... but I know a few people who have little indoor setups to sprout their own seedlings in so that they get a fighting chance, then transfer out to their raised beds.  Its a good option and since you're even more remote, it gives you more of a chance to monitor them in the early and fragile stage.  Also it gives you a little jump on the growing season in the spring where you could lose some of the seedlings to a late freeze, rare but possible up here.

And finally, I'm sure you've seen her, but if you want seedlings, and don't want to grow your own, the woman at the CoC farmers' market is pretty cool and she's got good stuff.

I like the idea of potatoes but fear it's probably too advanced. I think we'll settle on leafy greens like the next reader suggests:

Short season right now for summer crops like squash.  You might be able to get some zuchinni’s out before the days get too short and nights cold.  I just bought some lettuce seeds to plant in the next week or so.   I tried iceberg and leaf last year.  The leaf worked out way better than the iceberg.  Other things that will produce in our area in the winter include onions, garlic, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, radishes and cauliflower.  Things like turnips would also work.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'll be sure to check out the lady who sells seeds at the COC Farmer's Market this weekend.

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