Autumn brings shorter days, colder weather and rain. The weather is not good for spending time outside, but you can still prepare your garden for the winter.
Autumn is busy in the garden. Now you need to tidy up, prepare your plants for winter and plant new things for spring.
October is a busy month for gardeners. What’s the most important thing to do?
Here’s where to get started with garden work in October. Cleaning up and preparing for winter
October is the last time to look after plants before the hard frosts arrive.
- If your grass is tall, cut it one last time before winter.
- Hoe plants that should overwinter in a cold room.
- Protect those that stay outdoors with agrotextiles, mulch, peat moss, bark or conifer twigs.
- Remove weeds in flowerbeds, cut back flower stems, prune tall shrubs and check the quality of support for plants that need support to prevent them being damaged by strong winds.
What trees and shrubs do we plant in October? The list is long
October is the perfect time to plant flowers, fruit trees and open-rooted shrubs for next year. The ground isn’t frozen, so don’t wait.
- Place birch or blood currant seedlings in a hole dug in the soil and topped up with compost.
Once in the soil, be sure to water them lightly.
- In October you can also plant currant bushes, gooseberries, fruit trees: apple or pear trees.
- Early autumn is also a good time to plant roses, which will still have time to take root before winter if you can find a sunny, sheltered spot for them.
These plants need moist, sandy loam soil with plenty of humus.
What flowers do we plant in October? There will be no shortage of work in the garden
You can also plant bulbous plants in October, which will flower as spring arrives:
- snowdrops, crocuses, bulbs, daffodils, hyacinths, coronets, lilies or bluebells.
Plants should have big, healthy bulbs and no overgrown leaves or roots. Check them before putting them in the soil.
By the end of the month, plant them.
- perennials: lilies of the valley or tulips
- annuals: blackthorns, poppies, cornflowers, fritillaries or gypsophila.
However, to make sure they don’t freeze in winter, cover them with conifer branches.
October in the vegetable garden – what not to forget for autumn?
I’m sure you’re also wondering what to do in the vegetable garden in October?
- Harvest late cabbage, carrots, radishes and beetroot now.
- You can also harvest spinach, cauliflower, kohlrabi and tomatoes now.
- Plant spring onions now, but cover them with foil at the end of November.
