October Jobs in the Garden

With the air turning a bit crisper and cooler, you can head out into the garden this month to enjoy what’s left of the growing season, if you are in then cooler climate of northern Europe, or the north America. With that in mind we’ve compiled a list of what to do in the month of October in your fruit and vegetable garden.

Kitchen gardens

Harvesting your crops
You can continue harvesting carrots and potatoes for storage, ensuring crops are dry and clean. Never store any produce showing signs of damage or infection.

Crops to sow
The hardy varieties of peas and broad beans can be sown now. Most benefit from cloche protection in winter, especially in very cold areas.

Onions and garlic
Lay onions on greenhouse staging so that their tops and roots completely dry out before storing. Plant out selected varieties of garlic and Japanese onion sets, suitable for autumn planting.

Tomatoes
Finish picking outdoor tomatoes soon or they may succumb to disease. Green tomatoes can be picked to ripen separately or hang the entire plant in the greenhouse so the fruit can ripen on the vine.

Fruit orders
Plan now for autumn and winter fruit planting, by ordering new varieties of fruit trees, bushes and cane fruits.

Herbs
Pot up herbs so that they can be grown in a porch or on a windowsill for use during winter. Use our step-by-step guide to help you take cuttings of tender herbs.

Apples
Check if early-ripening apples are ready for harvesting by cupping them in your hand and gently lifting them upwards to see if the fruit comes away easily. If not, leave it to ripen further on the tree. Most early-ripening apples need eating straight away, as they do not store well.

Marrows
Once the skins of ripe marrows have hardened in the sun, they can be cut and stored for winter. Place on a shelf in a cool shed, so the air circulates around them. Our guide to growing marrows and courgettes has plenty of advice on harvesting.

Raspberries
Finish harvesting autumn-ripening varieties. All canes that have carried fruit this year can be cut down to soil level. New canes that form in the spring will produce a crop next autumn.

Blackberries
Pick berries from late-fruiting varieties as they ripen, covering them with netting to keep birds at bay. Once they are finished, cut the fruited canes away at soil level and tie in this year’s new canes.

General care

Garden waste
During autumn the garden often produces more waste than you can cope with, so now is the time to consider investing in a shredder and additional compost bins. Recycling organic material by composting it is always preferable to having bonfires.

Sow hardy annuals
Sow hardy annuals and they will quickly germinate and the thinned seedlings will flower earlier than spring-sown annuals. If you grew hardy annuals this year, why not save some seeds to sow now or in the spring.

Pond care
Put a large piece of small-mesh netting over ponds and water features to stop autumn leaves from falling in. Peg down the edges. Pick off leaves regularly and remove any that blow in with a small net, taking great care not to damage the liners. Also clear away remains of dying aquatic and marginal plants.

Evergreen pots
Empty pots and baskets of summer bedding and plant up with a new selection to provide colour and interest right through autumn and into spring. Use one or two small evergreen shrubs, such as euonymus or dwarf conifers, as structural elements within the pot, filling in around them with seasonal bedding to provide flowers during mild spells.

Irrigation systems
Disconnect seeping hoses and drip irrigation that is no longer needed, give them a clean and store them away for the winter.

Conifers
October is a good time to move established conifers and evergreen shrubs. Dig them up with the largest root-ball you can. Prepare the new planting site well and keep them well watered until they have established. Protect sensitive varieties from drying winds by surrounding with a netting wind-break.

Sow lawn seed
Finish sowing new lawns while the soil conditions are still warm enough for grass seed to germinate. Turf can still be laid in autumn, if the soil is not too wet. Our guide to autumn lawn care will help you get your grass in good shape for the winter ahead.