Napa Master Gardener Column

A well-planned garden brings delight to all the senses.

It's fall and time to get your worm compost bins in order. Thicker bedding protects the worms during cold weather as they move to the center of the bin to keep warm. It is sometimes hard to work a compost bin and rebuild it during winter. It's cold, or it's raining.

I grew up on a tree-lined street, with large carob tree canopies arching over to provide shading and cooling during the heat of summer. In the fall they filled the evening air with their pungent, earthy smell, and in spring they dropped their edible pods.

After the wildfires in Napa and Sonoma a few years ago, the problem remained of how to handle the toxic waste left behind.

A Master Gardener recently visited the Oak Knoll District vineyard of a fellow Master Gardener and saw a rose bush at the head of each row of Cabernet Sauvignon. You may have noticed the same practice in other vineyards in the valley.