It's a beautiful month full of autumnal colours, golden hues and first frosts. While it can turn dark and damp, those brighter, crisp days provide a perfect opportunity to get organised.
From tidy ups to cut backs, late harvests to over-winter preparations, there's plenty to keep us busy in the garden this October.
Here's a few key tasks to tackle from our head gardener, Julia.
General maintenance
Collect fallen leaves and dead plant material for the compost
Prune tall hedging plants while they're dormant
If you have a pond, net it to prevent it filling with fallen leaves
Give your garden one last good watering before the ground freezes if the soil is dry
Raise pots off the ground for the winter with bricks to prevent water-logging.
Use the last of the dry weather to paint fences and sheds with preservatives
Flowers
This month is ideal to plant hedges and move trees and shrubs
Prune rambling & climbing roses once they've finished flowering
Take hardwood cuttings from deciduous shrubs
Cut back perennial plants that have died down
After tidying borders, mulch with bark chips or well rotted manure to insulate plant roots for the winter
Fruit & Veg
Harvest pumpkins and squash before the frosts so they don;'t turn mushy
Hang tomato and pepper plants with green fruits upside down indoors to ripen.
Protect cauliflower heads from frost by wrapping the outer leaves around them and securing them with string.
If you want to grow peas and beans next year, prep the site by digging trenches and filling with manure or kitchen waste.
Cut back yellowing asparagus foliage to within 5cm of the ground.
Move citrus indoors to a bright, frost free position (4-12°C) away from cold draughts and radiators
Remove any diseased fruits from branches or the ground so they don't infect next year's crops
Clear the straw from around the base of strawberry plants to increase ventilation.
In the greenhouse
Set up your greenhouse heater in case of early frosts.
Move tender plants into the greenhouse to protect them from early frosts and leave space around them for ventilation
Check any plants which you're bringing inside for aphids and other pests
Remove any dead plant material to keep the growing area free fungal disease
Happy gardening!
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