The September heat is fading, and Autumn is in full swing. As it gets colder, the trees begin to change and nature becomes gold for a few months. We have put together a list of the essential gardening jobs for October to help you make the most out of the transitional season in your garden.
General
- Mulch the borders with compost if not done in the spring to boost the quality of your soil and help it retain water and nutrients during the colder months.
- Continue to tidy borders of weeds and leaves. These will become slippery over winter, but will also be harder to remove once the soil freezes.
- Apply autumn lawn feed. These specialised feeds help to fortify your lawn from frost and icy conditions.
- Cut back perennials that have died down.
- Renovate old lawns or create new grass areas by laying turf. By doing this now you encourage root growth instead of leaf growth which allows your grass to survive the winter, and cuts down on and mowing in the cold
Animals
- Refill Feeders regularly This well help late migratory birds on their way, but also provide a constant food source for wintering birds. See our range of bird feeds here.
- Install insect hotels. This is the easiest time of year to find the raw materials you need to build an insect hotel. By doing it now you’ll also have it ready for the Insects try to get away from the cold.
Plants
- Remove fallen leaves from roses to prevent blackspot – a fungal disease that can spread quickly to your whole rosegarden.
- Pot up your herbs and take them inside, either to a frost-free greenhouse or windowsill.
- Move tender plants, including aquatic ones, into a greenhouse or conservatory
- Bring potted tropical plants inside, including bananas, pineapple lilies (eucomis) and brugmansias.
Produce
- Begin planting garlic for a good summer harvest.
- Apply fleece to late season crops when frost is forecast
- Harvest apples, pears, grapes and nuts
Greenhouse
- Clean out the greenhouse to get rid of debris that can harbor overwintering pests
- Attach guttering to the greenhouse and install a water butt, to make good use of autumn rain. You can reuse this water elsewhere in the garden, it also discourages water from freezing on the greenhouse
- Wash greenhouse glazing to let in as much of the weaker autumn daylight as possible. This will keep your plants healthy as well as warm during the cold winter months.
It’s a busy time of the gardening year, but putting in some hard work now will give you great results in spring. Let us know what you’re up to on social media.