Let’s Get Gardening: October 2021

Let’s Get Gardening!

Well, as usual, here we are in October, and I have absolutely no idea where the summer went. I vaguely remember getting some vegetables from my garden this year – though it was definitely not my best garden year because of all the rain that led to all kinds of diseases. I do still have some things producing – especially kale, which seems to be oblivious to everything except hungry caterpillars and slugs. Some of my herbs are still going strong too and will likely continue to do so until we get some really cold weather. I am holding out hope that the late peas I planted (probably a little too late) may yet have time to produce, and I put in some very late cabbage, thinking I might get lucky with those, as well. Audrey Hepburn once said, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” These late plantings are my inner optimist showing!

Jennifer

In this month’s issue of Let’s Get Gardening

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In this month’s issue:

We should make the best of the weather we are getting now, since we are all but guaranteed to get light frosts by mid-month and killing frosts by the end of the month. Even with those chilling thoughts, there’s still much we can do in our yards and gardens this month – in fact, October is one of my favorite times to be outside working, as the weather tends to be so much more to my liking than the heat of summer!

Vegetable Garden:

• Keep protective fleece row covers handy if you still have things growing in your garden, and want to keep the frosts we will definitely see at some point this month from ending their growing days before you are ready for them to be over.
• If you still have any warm-weather produce in your garden, lucky you! Be sure to harvest it early in the month.
• Plant garlic after we’ve had some really good frosts, and the soil has cooled down. We got garlic bulbs in at The Garden Mill a couple of weeks ago, and it looks great (which explains why it’s going so fast). While there are over 500 distinct garlic varieties in the world, we only have 5 varieties available at the store – ranging from mild to spicy in flavor.
• Once your plants have stopped producing, clean out the garden. Do this early to mid-month so you’re not out in the freezing temperatures (or surprise early snow) at the end of the month, wishing you had done it sooner! Bag up and toss in the trash any plants with any signs of disease.
• When you’re all done for the season, don’t forget to clean your tools before putting them away (I’ll admit that I sometimes forget, which explains the rust on my pruning saw). Doing so will help your tools last longer and make them work better for you.

Flower Garden:

• Looking at the forecasts for the next few weeks, there is definitely still time to add new plants to your garden, and to divide and transplant existing ones. Just don’t wait too long, since the plants will need time to get acclimated in their new space before we start getting killing frosts and before the ground freezes.
• Once the ground is frozen, give your plants a thick layer of mulch. It’s not unusual for us to get thaws throughout the winter, which can cause heaving.
• Keep hoses handy this month, in case we don’t get consistent rain. By consistent, I mean regular rains that keep the ground moist, not a downpour one day and then another two weeks later – that isn’t very helpful for your plants, especially ones that have just been planted.
• If you haven’t already, this month is time to dig up your dahlias, cannas, caladium, and glads. These tender perennials can’t survive our winters, so they need to be dug up and stored in a cool, dry place.
• If you have ornamental grasses and perennial flowers, you have two options for dealing with them – cut them down in the fall or leave them up throughout the winter and cut them back in the spring. I like to leave mine up for the winter and cut them back in early spring because I like the texture they offer that helps to break up the long stretches of white.
• Plant spring-blooming bulbs this month. Just like with garlic bulbs, it’s best to wait until we have had at least a couple of good frosts. Be sure to give them a good covering of mulch when you do plant them. For the best selection of bulbs, get yours early.
• If you’d like to force spring-blooming bulbs (get them to bloom indoors earlier than they normally would come up outside), you should get them now, as they need a chilling period of 8 to 12 weeks.
• Replace your faded and tired-looking summer blooms with plants to take you all the way through fall, such as mums, ornamental kale, and asters. You can add decorative gourds and pumpkins to your planters, too.

Trees and Shrubs:

• As with your perennials, keep watering your trees and shrubs all the way up until the ground freezes. This is especially true for any that you planted this year, and all conifers, regardless of when they were planted, if we don’t get good, consistent rain this fall.
• With shorter days and cooler temperatures, leaves are starting to fall. You don’t want to leave them on your lawn, as that can cause issues for the grass. The great thing about leaves is that they can provide your garden (and indoor plants, too) with all kinds of benefits – in the form of leaf mold. Not familiar with the concept? Fine Gardening has a great article on the what, why, and how of creating and using leaf mold.
• In general. Fall is not a good time to prune trees and shrubs, as you are leaving open wounds on the branches that won’t have time to heal before winter sets in. You could also be spurring new growth by pruning now, and that growth won’t have time to harden off before winter. Some trees and shrubs set buds for next year’s flowers on this year’s wood, and pruning them now will mean that you’ll miss out on all those beautiful flowers next spring. If you have trees or shrubs in need of cleaning up, understand what to prune and how before you head out with your pruners, loppers, and saws. For the most part, anything that hasn’t been pruned by now should wait, unless you need to remove diseased, damaged, or dead branches.

Lawn:

• It looks like we will be mowing for a little while yet, as these temps and the rain we’ve been getting are ideal conditions for growing grass.
• October is a good time to give your lawn one last application of fertilizer to help it be at its healthiest going into winter.

Birds:

• If you are putting in new plants this fall and you also like to watch birds, consider plants that will attract more birds and more varieties of birds. Plants that provide seed or berries can attract some birds, while plants that attract beneficial insects will bring birds that feed on insects.
• Don’t put your hummingbird feeders or birdbaths away yet. The hummingbirds are still hanging around, and can still use the extra calories for their flights south.
• Remember to keep all of your bird feeders cleaned and full for the birds migrating through and to our area.

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Happy Gardening!

 

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