The nights are getting chillier and longer, and everywhere I look there are pumpkins on display. Yes, it’s October in the garden now, time of mists and mellow fruitfulness (to misquote a Romantic poet, Keats). So, what jobs are there to do in the garden?
Tidying up jobs
There’s always plenty of deadheading, pruning, seed collecting, and weeding to do. And if you haven’t finished all your September jobs, there’s still time!
If you have a greenhouse, you should take down any shade netting, or wash off any shade paint this month. Any plants you plan to move into the greenhouse will need all the light they can get over winter. And the glass will need washing down too, both inside and out. Tip: wash the outside when it’s raining, it’s much quicker and you won’t need to rinse!
Protect your fruit trees from the wingless female winter moths. They crawl up the trunks and lay their eggs, which hatch into very hungry caterpillars that will feed on the leaves, blossom and fruit of your trees. Tying sticky grease bands around the trunks this month will go a long way towards stopping this.
Spring bulbs
After enthusiastically planting over 1,000 bulbs in pots and the ground last Autumn, I’ve decided to be more sensible this year and just go for some late spring colour in my borders.
I’ve got a mix of Purple Sensation alliums (think giant chives) and smaller, wild garlic alliums (to make pesto, yum). And some magenta gladioli Byzantinus, which have much smaller flowers than their showier and later flowering cousins. That said, I’ll still be ordering some tulip bulbs for planting into pots in November 🙂
Sowing seeds
The soil is still warm and moist so you can direct sow your hardy annuals now (eg, cornflowers, poppies, larkspur, borage, and wildflower mixes) so they can start putting down roots before winter. Don’t worry if the top foliage dies off in the frosts, the flowers will still bloom, and you’ll have a lovely earlier selection to admire and pick.
You can also sow your sweet peas into Rootrainers and then keep them in the greenhouse over winter. They’ll be ready to plant out once the frosts are over next year and will be stronger and quicker to flower than those sown in spring.
Don’t forget to direct sow your broad beans too. Even though the foliage will blacken in the frosts, the plants will recover and you’ll be harvesting your own broad beans much earlier than spring-sown plants will crop. Garlic prefers cooler temperatures too, so now is the best time to plant your cloves for a May/June harvest next year.
Deadheading/pruning
Keep deadheading your flowers to encourage new flowers to form, even at this time of year. We still have cosmos, dahlias, anemones, asters, wallflowers, scabious, borage, mallows, snapdragons, verbena, and shrub roses blooming happily.
I need to prune and tie in our climbing roses though, with the aim of encouraging a mass of fragrant new flowers next summer. We don’t have any blackcurrant bushes but if you do, now’s the time to prune out this year’s stems to make way for new green growth which will bear next year’s fruits.
When you prune, try and remove any stems or branches that are diseased, old, or crossing. You want to prune just above an outward facing bud or shoot, and do it with a clean, sharp pair of secateurs or loppers to avoid bruising or otherwise harming the plant.
Harvesting
Our greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers are still cropping but I think I’ll need to call time in a couple more weeks and clear them out so I can clean the greenhouse ready for winter.
Our apples have finished (we have a VERY early ripening variety), as have our plums and blueberries. We still have a handful of quinces to pick – not enough to make jelly but probably sufficient for a couple of delicious crumbles!
My October in the garden is looking quite busy then. How is your list of jobs shaping up? Do let me know 🙂
This is such an informative post! I would love to get into gardening more – last year I managed to grow some Tomatoes and Green Beans but that’s all. I wouldn’t know where to start with most things but maybe next year it’s something I can focus on more. You get lots of foxes around my area so gotta be careful what you plant and where. I may have to come to you for some tips! <3
Aw, thank you! I’m certainly no expert but I do love experimenting. And kudos for managing to grow tomatoes and beans, neither are particularly easy. I’m not sure what is fox-proof, I’ll have to think about that for you! X
Oh I so loved reading this post. Since I moved up to this village, and my mum followed shortly after, I’ve got really into gardening stuff. My mum and I tried growing tomatoes in her garden (I just have a little balcony) this year and though we didn’t get many we know we can grow them now so next year we’re determined to make a better job of it. I will take it advice to her about fruit trees as I believe she has a little plum tree that could do with protecting from critters!
Thank you! I don’t really know that much myself but I’ve picked up tips as I’ve gone on, and learned a few things the hard way, hehe. I just love grubbing around in the dirt and seeing what grows where (or not!) X
Ah this is such a handy post! I sadly only rent and my garden has next to no plants in it, but this is giving me all kinds of garden envy. I can’t wait till I live somewhere where I can get outdoors and make it look beautiful!
Thanks so much for sharing your tips with us!
Beth x
Thank you, so pleased it’s useful! I only had a window box fror 15 years so having a garden now is incredibly exciting! Fingers crossed you get some more outside space soon, X
Love this post and your photos are just fab! So many fab tips here, my grans been dying to start growing out own fruit and veg and I think next year we are going to ‘re do the garden so will be a perfect time to start.
Jordanne || Thelifeofaglasgowgirl.co.uk
Oh, thank you! I get such a buzz from gardening, not just fruit and veg but flowers too. I hope you and your gran have fun when you redesign her garden next year! X
I wish I had a garden, I’d love to grow my own flowers and fruit but it looks like a lot of work! Sounds like you’ve got it all under control though, even if it is a very long list
Haha, it is a lot of work, and I certainly don’t have everything under control ? but I love it! There’s nothing like eating your own produce and picking your own flowers, I’m very lucky! X
I would love to make use of my garden but I wouldn’t know where to start. This post contain so much great information.
I’m also slightly jealous that you harvest your own plums (they’re so delicious)!
Louisa
Aw, thank you. I had no clue either when we moved here 8 years ago, I started with bulbs and more bulbs, they’re pretty foolproof, haha! Sadly we had hardly any plums this summer, fingers crossed we’ll have a better crop next year ? X
Great tips! I have been wondering if now is a good time to prune my plants. I have a few that could use it. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, thank you! Now’s a great time for pruning and tidying up lots of plants over here. I’m not sure what your weather is like across the pond but as long as you haven’t got any frosts you should be fine. Good luck!
I’m a terrible gardener personally but I have a few little indoor plants; Aloe and other succulents. So my list for October is just to try and not accidentally kill them! Your garden sounds much more impressive 🙂
I’m actually in awe of people who manage to keep houseplants alive, it’s a feat I’ve rarely managed, haha. Succulents in particular are my Achilles heel. Outdoor gardening is way easier! X