October : Gardening Tasks

Flower borders

Time to tidy up the herbaceous border! When you’ve cut back plants for the winter, collect up those canes used for support, dry them off and store them in a shed or garage. They will last several years if you look after them. Remember too that some of your perennial plants may be a little tender and who knows how severe this winter may be? So cut back plants and protect them with garden fleece.

Prune and tie in climbing and rambling roses to prepare them for winter winds.

Vegetable plots

When you cut a cabbage in October, make cuts both ways across the surface of the stem remaining in the ground. This will initiate growth of some young winter greens you can use at your leisure. Remember too that if you leave some 20cms of the stems of peas and beans when clearing ground, they will release Nitrogen absorbed from the air during the summer back into the soil in the form of Nitrates. It’s all about re-cycling!

Fruit patch

Something that often gets forgotten. On a sunny October day, remove your bird protection netting from the frame, let it dry in the sun then fold and put it away for the winter.

October is such a busy month, bringing in the harvests for the winter and preparing the garden for its hibernation. Keep your garden diary up to date though, experience gained is never wasted and it will help you with your decisions next year. Get your requests in for those seed catalogues. There’s bound to be lots of exciting new things to grow!