October in the garden
October is a great gardening month as it really signals the warmth of spring and summer to make all our plants grow well. Take time to enjoy all the spring flowers as they brighten up our lives and also wonder at the green leaves emerging from the tight buds that have been home to the leaves over winter. In the vegetable garden enjoy planting the new season’s crops ready for those sumptuous feasts of Christmas and New Year.
Take a few minutes to check out any manual or automatic watering systems in the garden and make any repairs that may be needed. This will save lots of headaches and heartaches when the dry summer arrives.
Ornamental Garden
When the ground is warm, sow the following annuals directly into a well-prepared soil as they do not like to be transplanted, but will grow rapidly from seed. Sweet pea, candytuft, larkspur, godetia, cornflower, mignonette, clarkia, scabiosa and livingstone daisy. They make a great show with little work.
At this time of year the garden centres and retailers are receiving new stocks of trees, shrubs and perennials. There are many new varieties to choose from. Always choose well grown and healthy plants and make sure that there is a good root system inside the pot. However check to see that the plant does not have a great solid mass of roots as they plant will not grow well. Equally check that there are roots and that the plant is growing freely. Look for a nice balance between these two extremes.
Edible Garden
Continue to plant various vegetable crops to provide a succession of fresh, juicy and tasty food for spring and summer salads and meals.
Depending upon your climate plant early potatoes.
Check the soil in the vegetable patch is well prepared. There are only three aspects to consider.
Spinach - first of succession sowings
Silver beet - early sowing
Spring onions - good for intercropping
Lettuce - first of succession sowings
Dwarf beans - about 100 mm apart in a double row in late October
Scarlet runner bean - against a fence or climbing structure in late October
Parsnips - use only fresh seed otherwise poor results
Carrots - early varieties followed by a main crop
Radish - succession planting every 2-3 weeks
Beetroot - both globe and cylindrical (best for bottling)
Leeks - in a seedbed for later transplanting
Cabbages - small sowings in a seedbed on monthly basis
Cauliflower - small sowings in a seedbed on monthly basis
Onions - for pickling and main crop
Sweet corn - sow late in October
Glasshouse and Conservatory
Indoor Plants
All plants growing in homes and offices should be repotted this month. They are just starting to make good root growth and by repotting now they will make rapid healthy growth to produce a fine display over the summer months. The new roots will take advantage of all the nutrients in the soil mix to grow and flower well. Purchase a good potting mix and some new pots if necessary.
Fruit
Pests and diseases are best dealt with before buds burst by spraying with an all-seasons spraying oil. Spray pre-blossom (early green tip) copper oxychloride to combat black spot, mildew and leaf curl. Do not use insecticides - they may kill the insects that pollinate the flowers. After petal-fall, spray with fungicides for continuing protection.
Late October, start spraying with pesticides to control chewing and sucking insects. If your trees are relatively free of pests and diseases, hold off on the sprays.
Lawns
Take a few minutes to check out any manual or automatic watering systems in the garden and make any repairs that may be needed. This will save lots of headaches and heartaches when the dry summer arrives.
Ornamental Garden
When the ground is warm, sow the following annuals directly into a well-prepared soil as they do not like to be transplanted, but will grow rapidly from seed. Sweet pea, candytuft, larkspur, godetia, cornflower, mignonette, clarkia, scabiosa and livingstone daisy. They make a great show with little work.
At this time of year the garden centres and retailers are receiving new stocks of trees, shrubs and perennials. There are many new varieties to choose from. Always choose well grown and healthy plants and make sure that there is a good root system inside the pot. However check to see that the plant does not have a great solid mass of roots as they plant will not grow well. Equally check that there are roots and that the plant is growing freely. Look for a nice balance between these two extremes.
- Sow annual flower seedlings in sheltered places
- Continue to keep the garden weed free
- Prune spring flowering shrubs as soon as the flowers have finished.
- Plant out newly purchased plants and water well.
- Lift and divide dahlias and canna
- Apply pest and disease sprays to your roses and other special plants if needed.
- With a dry spring in many areas apply water via irrigation or sprinklers.
Edible Garden
Continue to plant various vegetable crops to provide a succession of fresh, juicy and tasty food for spring and summer salads and meals.
Depending upon your climate plant early potatoes.
Check the soil in the vegetable patch is well prepared. There are only three aspects to consider.
- Ensure good drainage – water logged soils will nor encourage good plant growth
- Keep the garden weed free to remove the competition for the available nutrients
- Apply compost to ensure a good supply of nutrients for the various crops.
- Plant cabbage, cauliflower, silver beet, lettuces - put in a few each time to give succession cropping
- At the end of the month plant potatoes. Early potatoes need about 3 months to grow a good crop ready for Christmas dinner.
- Apply compost and fertiliser into the garden
- Fertilize strawberry plants with an all purpose fertiliser
- Sow seed sparingly as to sow more than required is a waste of seed. Sowing seed thickly leads to weak and spindly plants due to overcrowding.
Spinach - first of succession sowings
Silver beet - early sowing
Spring onions - good for intercropping
Lettuce - first of succession sowings
Dwarf beans - about 100 mm apart in a double row in late October
Scarlet runner bean - against a fence or climbing structure in late October
Parsnips - use only fresh seed otherwise poor results
Carrots - early varieties followed by a main crop
Radish - succession planting every 2-3 weeks
Beetroot - both globe and cylindrical (best for bottling)
Leeks - in a seedbed for later transplanting
Cabbages - small sowings in a seedbed on monthly basis
Cauliflower - small sowings in a seedbed on monthly basis
Onions - for pickling and main crop
Sweet corn - sow late in October
Glasshouse and Conservatory
- Clean the structure to reduce pest and disease infections
- Continue planting tomatoes and other greenhouse crops
- Sow marrows, cucumbers, pumpkins, pepinos, eggplant and peppers
- Or purchase plants for planting.
Indoor Plants
All plants growing in homes and offices should be repotted this month. They are just starting to make good root growth and by repotting now they will make rapid healthy growth to produce a fine display over the summer months. The new roots will take advantage of all the nutrients in the soil mix to grow and flower well. Purchase a good potting mix and some new pots if necessary.
Fruit
Pests and diseases are best dealt with before buds burst by spraying with an all-seasons spraying oil. Spray pre-blossom (early green tip) copper oxychloride to combat black spot, mildew and leaf curl. Do not use insecticides - they may kill the insects that pollinate the flowers. After petal-fall, spray with fungicides for continuing protection.
Late October, start spraying with pesticides to control chewing and sucking insects. If your trees are relatively free of pests and diseases, hold off on the sprays.
Lawns
- Regular mowing with blades set between 30 - 50mm high makes a great lawn
- Mowing at this height will save summer watering
- Spray older lawns with selective weed killer to encourage grasses to grow.