.
October is a magical month for gardeners. The blazing heat of summer has passed, the crispness of autumn fills the air, and the soil still holds enough warmth to encourage seeds and transplants to establish before winter arrives.
Many gardeners think of autumn as the end of the growing season, but in reality , it’s one of the best times to give your garden new life.
Cooler temperatures mean less stress on young plants, fewer pests compared to the summer, and the opportunity to plant crops and flowers that actually prefer chilly weather.
JOBS FOR THE MONTH:
Fruit and veg
- Sow hardy greens, such as kale, land cress, pak choi, mizuna, lamb’s lettuce and mustard, for winter pickings
- Prune out all the fruited canes of summer raspberries, cutting down to the base, and tie in new canes to supports
- Pot up herbs, such as chives and parsley, and place on a sunny windowsill to use during winter
- Start sowing hardy varieties of broad beans and peas for early crops next year
- Plant shallot and onion sets in a sunny spot, 10cm apart, with the tip just showing above the soil
- Cut away any leaves covering the fruits of pumpkins, squash and marrows to help the skins ripen in the sun
- Plant saffron crocus bulbs (Crocus sativus), so you can harvest your own saffron this autumn
- Pick apples and pears before the wind blows them down, and store undamaged fruits if you can’t eat them fresh
- Store chillies by threading the stalks onto strong cotton or wire and hanging up to dry somewhere warm and dry
- Cut off trusses of unripe outdoor tomatoes before the weather turns cold, then ripen them indoors
- Lift maincrop potatoes, dry off and store in hessian or paper sacks, in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place
- Complete summer pruning of both free-standing and trained apple trees, to encourage good fruiting in future years
Flowers
- Sow hardy annuals, such as cerinthes, ammi, scabiosa and cornflowers, for flowers early next summer
- Lift gladioli corms, dry them off, then store in a frost-free shed or garage over winter
- Plant wallflowers, pansies, forget-me-nots and other spring bedding in pots and borders
- Collect ripe seeds from your favourite flowers and store in labelled envelopes, ready to sow in spring
- Plant up containers for autumn interest, using cyclamen, heathers, heucheras and other colourful bedding plants
- Lift, divide and replant congested clumps of perennials, such as achilleas, once they finish flowering
- Apply vine weevil control to pots if plants show the tell-tale sign of notched leaf margins
- Fill any gaps with late-flowering perennials, such as sedums, to provide nectar for pollinating insects into autumn
- Plant spring bulbs in autumn, including crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths, bluebells and snake’s-head fritillaries in pots and borders
- Take cuttings from fuchsias, salvias and pelargoniums
- Keep summer bedding flowering in hanging baskets and pots until the first frosts by deadheading and feeding regularly
- Trim conifer hedges to neaten them up and control height
- Leave sunflower seedheads in place for birds to feed on
- Make an autumn wreath, using flowers, foliage and berries from the garden
- Visit other gardens for late-season inspiration.
