October’s Garden To-Do List

October’s Garden To-Do List

By Thommy Barbeauld

The cool mornings and evening let us know that Fall has officially arrived. As the weather becomes
more moderate, there are still a few things to do as harvest season quickly approaches. Here are
some things to keep you busy in your garden this month:

General

• Clean up garden beds by removing dead plant material. Use any disease-free garden debris to start a new compost pile. If you do not already own one (and do not feel like constructing one), invest in a compost bin.
• Compost the leaves that you rake off the lawn, but shred them first for easier decomposition.
• Cover your mums, asters, and other fall flowers on nights when the forecast calls for a frost. This will extend their blooming season.
• If you are not actively composting your leaves, consider keeping the leaves on your lawn and dead heads on your plants. This helps native insects and pollinators with food and shelter during the upcoming cold months.

Pest Planning

• Send a sample of your soil into the extension office to be tested, and add amendments ae recommended.
• Save seed from some of your favorites. Dry it, place it in a paper envelope (writing the plant name and year on it), put the envelope in an airtight container, and store it in a cool, dark, dry location.

Planting

• As soon as the weather becomes cool, plant new trees and shrubs. Keep them well-watered until the ground freezes (at which point water will not be able to seep down to the roots).
• Plant cool-season annuals like pansies, petunias, and even snap dragons.

Vegetables

• Harvest and preserve herbs. They can be either dried or frozen.
• Remove any green tomatoes left on your tomato plants.
• Harvest your winter squash once their vines die back or, at the very latest, before a hard freeze.
• Winter squash is ready for picking when its rind is hard enough that you can’t penetrate it with your fingernail.
• Continue to pick your cool-season crops (whether underground crops like beets or cold crops like cauliflower) whenever they are ready.