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October is here and Autumn is now in full swing. Whilst most may think that now is a time to begin winding down their gardening efforts, it is actually a superb time to tidy up, cut back, harvest, store and begin to plan ahead for the coming months.
Whilst the days are shorter, the beautiful autumnal colours are appearing with crisp, blue-sky days waiting for you to make the most of the fun you can have whilst tending to your outdoor space.
To help you manage your job list or skip certain tasks that may not be relevant to you, this month’s jobs have been split into four categories:
By the time October rolls around, your garden may begin to look a little bit of a mess due to dying leaves, collapsing plants and empty borders. However, this is the perfect opportunity to begin cutting back and tidying up.
On top of regular tasks such as keeping your lawn tidy and plants cut back, there is also a collection of jobs to ensure your garden is prepared for frosts as winter approaches.
We recommend completing as many maintenance tasks as you can before moving on to the rest of this month’s gardening jobs.
For wildlife to shelter in, build a log pile at the back of a border
Clean out and disinfect any bird boxes that have been used
After harvesting, cut autumn-fruiting raspberries down to the ground
To improve drainage, spike compacted lawns and brush grit into the holes
Fork up all of the roots of perennial weeds, including horsetail or bindweed
After the rigours of summer months, apply an autumn lawn feed to revive the grass
To rot down into leafmould, rake up fallen leaves from lawns, borders, driveways & paths to store in bin bags
Ensure your shed is secure and waterproof to safely store your tools and patio furniture in it over winter
Once it has turned black, remove the barley straw placed in your pond during spring to discourage algae
Store your empty ceramic and glazed pots that aren’t frost proof in a shed over winter
Gather canes and plant supports that are no longer in use and store indoors for winter
So they don’t freeze and split, collect up hoses and drip-feed systems and store indoors for winter
To reduce overwintering populations, continue to go on regular snail hunts, especially on damp evenings
Greenhouses are, as always, proving their worth again this month by allowing you to continue to grow, harvest and sow despite the colder weather. October is the time to ensure your growing efforts are correctly targeted and that you are beginning to prepare your growing space for the coming winter months.
Follow the steps below to ensure your growing efforts are timed perfectly and your growing efforts will more than come to fruition:
For Christmas flowers, plant hippeastrum (amaryllis) bulbs in pots on a warm windowsill
Keep potted citrus plants and fuchsias cool but frost free by moving them inside over winter
Let as much of the weaker autumn daylight in as possible by washing greenhouse glazing
To provide fragrant winter flowers indoors pot up the roots of lily-of-the-valley
As conditions turn cooler and the days get shorter, water plants more sparingly
For fragrant indoor blooms in about 10 weeks, plant prepared narcissus bulbs
As night-time temperatures start to drop, line greenhouse glazing with bubble insulation
Watch for pests and disease by inspecting plants you bring into the greenhouse over winter
To make good used for autumn rain, attach guttering to the greenhouse and install a water butt
Ideally using rainwater, keep indoor azaleas constantly moist
For early flowers next summer, sow sweet peas in deep pots
To fill water butts up, clear fallen leaves from greenhouse guttering
Before storing, spread out harvested onions and garlic on greenhouse staging to dry thoroughly
Get rid of debris that can harbour overwintering pests and diseases by cleaning out your greenhouse
Tropical potted plants including bananas, pineapple lilies (eucomis) and brugmansias should be brought inside
For some nutrient-rich pickings in just a few weeks, sow quick-growing microgreens, such as kale and mustard
October and autumn produce milder weather, unique colours and another list of planting tasks to get stuck into. This is the ideal time to use warmer soil and cooler weather to plant anything that will thrive in these conditions.
Traditionally, October is the perfect time to begin planning for winter and spring by planting bulbs and winter flowering plants that will give you a beautiful display of colour.
Not all of these tasks may be relevant to your outdoor space, browse the jobs and complete the right ones for your space.
Whilst the soil is still warm enough, plant evergreen shrubs and conifer hedges
To avoid windrock damage over winter, reduce the height of shrub roses
From ornamental trees and shrubs, now is the time to take hardwood cuttings
To prevent waterlogging over winter, remove any pot saucers and raise pots up onto feet
To protect from frost, wrap layers of fleece or straw around banana plants and tree ferns
Empty and compost the contents of any of your spent summer pots and hanging baskets
In a lawn, informally plant drifts of spring bulbs including crocuses, daffodils and snake’s-head fritillaries
Lift, dry off the tubers and store in cool dark conditions until spring your tender cannas to avoid frost damage
Add winter colour to your pot displays by planting up heathers, cyclamen, winter pansies and skimmia
Transplant any deciduous shrubs that have outgrown their current position or are in the wrong place
To protect over winter, lift and pot up tender perennials, such as chocolate cosmos, gazanias and coleus
Collect seeds and sow immediately from hardy perennials, such as astrantia, achillea & red valerian
This month will most likely be the last hectic month around your vegetable patches and other produce growing spaces. Planting and sowing tasks are beginning to slow down now with more harvesting and planning jobs appearing to get your space ready for the quickly approaching winter.
The first frost of autumn usually arrive in October and in doing so could kill off all but the hardy plants in your growing space so this is something to take into consideration.
All of October’s growing tasks can be found below:
October is the time to begin planting out your spring cabbages
To prolong cropping, cover all of your salad plants with cloches
Cut down to the ground, fruited stems of blackberries & raspberries
For planting from late autumn to early spring, order bare-root fruit trees & bushes
Take cuttings from shrubby herbs, such as rosemary, lemon verbena and thyme
Rather than leaving soil bare over winter, sow green manure, such as winter rye
For early crops next year, keep sowing batches of hardy broad beans and peas outdoors
With the tip 5cm below the surface and 15cm apart, plant garlic cloves in a sunny well-drained spot
So they can’t harbour pests and diseases on the veg plot through the winter, clear away old crops
To ripen the skins, raise pumpkins and squash onto bricks to keep them dry and expose them to more sun
To add to the compost bin, cut down the ferny shoots of asparagus to soil level once they’ve turned yellow
For replanting or sharing with friends, divide large clumps of herbs, such as chives, lemon balm and marjoram
Leaving pea-sized fruits to develop for harvesting next year, remove large fruits on fig trees that have failed to ripen
Finish picking runner beans and French beans but so you can save some of the seeds, leave a few pods to ripen fully
To trap the crawling female winter moth, wrap grease bands around the trunks of apple, pear, cherry and plum trees
