October Gardening Tips

•October is the last chance to plant winter vegetables
•Rake up falling autumn leaves to help the lawn “breathe”
•Apply frost protective sprays on tender plants once nighttime temps reach the high 30’s
•Prune back the new, young flexible Wisteria growth in fall after the canes are dormant, but leave 2-4 buds for next spring’s blooms. Wisteria flowers more profusely if pruned regularly
•Allow Pumpkin and Winter Squash to grow to size and harvest when their stems have turned brown because they do not ripen off the vine
•October is a good month to plant a new lawn using cool season grasses like Fescue
•Apply a pre-emergent weed control to save backbreaking work in the spring. Do not apply if starting perennials from seed. Be sure to follow the printed directions
•Rake, pick up and dispose of fallen foliage to curtail overwintering insects and disease
•Reduce water for deciduous nut trees as they begin to go dormant
•Broadcast a fall fertilizer over areas watered by your drip systems when 1″ of rain is expected and allow nature to do the watering
•Use clippers to avoid tearing fruit and snip off with a small section of their stems Apples picked with the stem attached to the fruit keep longer
•Mulch over the roots of frost tender vines and groundcovers. Replenish mulches so they remain at 2 inches
•Even in fall there are lots of annuals to plant: Alyssum, Iceland Poppy, Johnny-Jump Up, Snapdragon, Pansy, Primrose, and Sweet William
•Fall is a good time to divide and transplant overgrown clumps of bulbs. Transplant as you would new bulbs in well-amended, good-draining soil
•Purchase Spring Bulbs now