Around the Yard

Things to do this week:

* Stay out of the garden. Do not walk on garden soil when it is raining or for several days afterward, or you will compact it and undo any improvements you have made. This week’s rain, the first of the season, only soaked in a few inches, but get in the habit of not walking on the garden surface now, before any real damage is done. If you must go into a wet garden, treat the area like wet cement and lay down boards to spread out your weight.

With the sun low and days cool, it may take as long as a week before you can safely walk into a garden bed, although there are some who say you never should.

This advice extends to digging. Wait at least a week and make sure soil is dry enough to crumble, not cake-like.

* Protect cactuses. Many cactuses and some succulents come from winter-dry climates, the opposite of our own. While they need occasional watering in summer, they prefer being dry in winter, so move them under eaves or overhead where the sun will reach them but rainwater cannot. If they stay damp or get too wet, they may rot.

There are areas of Southern California that get cold enough to damage some cactuses and succulents, but overhangs may protect these as well. If not, bring them indoors for a winter rest in a sunny spot.