October is always full of joyous, bright Autumn colours on all kinds of plants, from flowers to fruit. Golden leaves are falling from the trees and orange pumpkins are being harvested ready for Halloween fun! We will all be praying for the rain to stop so we can enjoy some lovely Autumn walks.
Jobs to do this month:
• Sow winter lettuce in the greenhouse. Sow in to peat free compost with some of our plant feed and soil conditioner mixed in. Then the lettuce will have all the nutrients they need to keep producing salad leaves throughout the winter months.
• Harvest main crop apples and pears and the last of the fruit
• Prune raspberries and blackberries, leaving new canes ready for next year
• Harvest squash and pumpkin
• Plant autumn garlic and onions
• Cut back asparagus stems to 2″ above soil level
• Plant rhubarb crowns or divide those that you have
• Plant strawberry runners in pots or in the soil, and cut off from the main plant once the runners have established roots
• Plant bare-root fruit trees, mixing in some of our plant feed and soil conditioner with the soil to provide slow release nutrients over the winter.
• Grow some mushrooms by planting the spawns into some compost at least 9 inches deep. They should be done in around 6 weeks!
• Bring in tender perennials like Fuchias and Pelargoniums
• Plant all sorts of spring flowering bulbs like Daffodils, Hyacinths, Crocus and Tulips, both in borders and containers along with winter and spring bedding plants
• Plant hedging with a mulch of our soil conditioner around the base of each plant.
• Plant rose bushes, adding some of our natural soil conditioner into the planting hole, to provide the slow-release nutrients the roses will need over the winter.
• Clear faded summer bedding and replace with winter bedding: Pansies, Wallflowers
• Plant and transplant trees and shrubs. Make sure you add some of our natural soil conditioner to the hole when planting, and apply as a top dressing mulch around the base of the plant, so they get off to the best start possible in their new location.
• Lift Gladiloli and Dahlias, and over-winter in a frost free location
