Excepted for November

Handout for November

Before we get to end our year, do some reflecting about what went right and what went wrong.  Honestly ask yourself what you think your big successes were and note where you ran off the rails.

Check the water on your plants if we get Santa Ana winds!  
Keep all your seeds moist.
Keep all your freshly transplanted seeds moist as well.
If temperatures get really hot, cover lettuces and other sensitive plants with                      something to shade them  in the hottest parts of the day – I've used an old                        screen someone threw away just resting on 18” stakes!  

Continue to plant seeds of all cabbage family plants.  
Experiment with favas, lentils and garbanzo plants, or just plant seeds in the ground.  
Even if you don't end up with a great harvest, you've been adding to your soil and you get a blue ribbon.
Keep an eye on your root crops – will you need more than you thought or do you have it all in hand? 

Look at last year's notes and decide on what you're thinking about for spring – already! Yes!  Catalogs are arriving and we'll be wanting to think about last Summer's garden while it's still somewhat fresh.  Grab a catalog, schedule some down time, and dream your way through all the listings of the stuff you can grow!  With a couple of pieces of paper, make a list of what you like and on the other draw out your garden.  Quickly you'll see you're over ordering and that should give you a pause, but it probably won't and like the rest of us, you'll order enough seeds for the entire community!



Start These In Containers         Start These In The Ground        Move to the Ground from                                                                                                            Containers
More of the cabbage family!          Fava beans                           Cabbage family members 
        Garbanzos                            Beets                                       from early September
  Leafy salad veggies                     Carrots                                          Fava beans
  Lettuce                                       Cilantro                                            Leeks
  Peas                                            Fava beans
                                                     Garlic 
                                                     Lettuce
                                                    Onions (from sets)
                                              Other green leafy vegetables
                                                       Peas
                                                      Turnips

Refer to the text for exact dates.

Grilled Cabbage Wedges with Spicy Lime Dressing

This is a delightful way to return to your grill on a cooler California evening.  The limes are not seasonal, but everything else fresh is – cabbage and cilantro – or soon will be.  It's not your everyday cabbage, that's for sure!   

¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 garlic cloves
¼ cup cilantro leaves
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon sugar
1 head of cabbage – you might try mixing green with purple 
Good olive  oil

Preheat grill.

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine the lime juice, olive oil, fish sauce, garlic, cilantro, salt, cayenne and sugar and pulse or blend until the sauce is pale orange color in color.  Set aside.

Remove the loosest, toughest outer leaves from the cabbage; cut into 8 evenly sized wedges.  Do not remove the stalk or inner core.  Lightly brush the wedges with canola oil.

Place the wedges on the grill and cover.  Cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the edges of each layer are blackened and the cabbage is beginning to soften.  Flip each wedge over, cover the grill, and cook for an additional 5 to 7 minutes on the other side.  Remove the cabbage when it is beginning to wilt, but is still firm in the middle.  If necessary, turn the heat down or move the wedges to a cooler part of the grill so they don't burn.  Don't be afraid of the blackened edges; you want a lot of grill and char marks on the cabbage.

Take the cabbage off the grill and place on a serving plate.  Pour the dressing over the top of the cabbage and serve immediately with wedges of lime.  

david