In the garden - October

Written by Daily Fix - Published 01-Oct-2019, last updated 21-Jun-2024

Autumn colours are really kicking in now, which means it will soon be time to rake up the resulting leaf-fall. If you don't already have a container for depositing the fallen leaves, you could make one with 4 wooden stakes and some chicken wire. The leaves will decompose and create fantastic leaf mulch.

Here are some other things you might need to be doing in the garden during October.

Sow grass seed and lay turf

It's still a good time to sow seed or lay turf as the weather, and ground, is still warm enough for it to get going before Winter. And feed established lawns with an autumn lawn feed.

If dry enough, give the lawn a trim to keep it looking tidy.

Take hardwood cuttings

Take hardwood cutting from shrubs and try some rose cuttings.

Planting

Plant evergreen shrubs to give the garden colour and structure through the Winter and keep planting spring bulbs for early outside colour next year.

Plant broad beans and onions for over-wintering.

Bare root planting

October is usually a good time to start bare-root planting. Think bare-root apple tree, pears and other fruit trees. Also fruiting shrubs such as blackcurrants and gooseberries.

What is a bare-root plant?

Many deciduous trees, shrubs and roses are available as bareroot (bare-root) plants. The plants are dug up by the growers while they're dormant, soil is washed from the roots, and the roots are surrounded in moist packing material prior to shipping.

What are the benefits of bareroot plants compared with container-grown plants?

There are many advantages to choosing baret plants, including:

• Bareroot plants are usually less expensive and shipping costs when ordered online may be cheaper as the bare-root plant is mich lighter than a plant on a pot with lots of heavy compost!
• Bareroot plants often establish more quickly.
• You are likely to find a larger selection of bareroot plants, especially via mail order.

Clean greenhouses and outdoor furniture

Give the greenhouse a good clean to discourage pests and prevent disease. Also clean up garden furniture before storing under cover until next year.

Trim hedges

If you haven't already, give hedges a tidy up so that they are looking sharp over winter.

If you have a tall hedge and you haven't trimmed the top of the hedge for a couple of years then it may have grown into a hedge you dread tackling at this time of year. If this is the case, or if you just want to reduce the time taken to cut your hedges, you could consider lowering them. Depending on how much hedging you have this may be a big job, but it's a gardening job that keeps on giving as trimming the reduced height hedges will be less time consuming next year.

More gardening jobs for October

If you have an established rhubarb crown you can divide it to create new plants.

It's also a good time to divide herbaceous perennials.

Prune climbing roses. If you want to expand your rose growing you can use some of the trimmings to create new rose plants.