How to grow salad leaves
Bags of salad leaves are quite expensive to buy and have a fairly short lifespan in the fridge. Grow your own and you can pick exactly...
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Gardening in October
October can be a glorious month in the garden, with clear blue skies and crisp days. Everywhere you look, the autumn leaves are a blaze of rich warm reds, oranges and yellows, a last extravagant explosion of colour before winter arrives. The days are getting shorter, so make the most of good gardening weather whenever you get the chance this month. Wrap up warm, get outdoors and enjoy your garden’s autumn display this year.
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What Vegetables to Plant in October While October is primarily a harvest month, it's also time to plant your winter and spring crops once you've cleared the last summer crop beds. Some hardy seeds can still be sown outdoors, while others are best sown under glass or in a cold greenhouse. Here is a list of vegetables to sow and plant in October: To sow winter crops outdoors or in a greenhouse: winter lettuce Chinese cabbage Mizuna Sowing spring crops outdoors: pea broad bean Plant it out: garlic spring cabbage asparagus crown What Vegetables to Plant in October Most vegetables are almost in crops now, so make the most of this last harvest. These vegetables should be harvested in October: pea runner beans green beans pumpkin squash autumn cabbage Tomatoes (ripe and unripe) black pepper broccoli Chinese chives Beetroot Vegetable plant maintenance in October Once the last bean has been harvested, the plant is cut to the ground, leaving the roots in the ground, releasing stored nitrogen into the soil. Ripe green tomatoes indoors by placing them in a paper bag with bananas or apples (the fruit releases ethylene, which helps the vegetable ripen). Check regularly and remove tomatoes as they ripen, as well as any moldy tomatoes. Cut asparagus leaves to 5 cm (2 inches) above the ground.
What fruit to plant in October As well as harvesting the last of the fruit, October is a good month to plant fruit trees, bushes and plants while the soil is still warm from the summer, giving them time to settle in over winter ready to produce a bountiful crop next year. These fruits are all ready to plant in October: Rhubarb crowns Strawberry runners Apple trees Plum trees Pear trees Apricot trees Fig trees What fruit to harvest in October These fruits should all be ready to harvest in October: Apples Pears Grapes Autumn-fruiting raspberries Perpetual strawberries Fruit plant maintenance in October Cut back the fruited canes of summer fruiting raspberries to ground level. Tie in the new canes that have grown this year to supports ready to produce fruit next year. Move citrus trees indoors to a bright, frost-free place and reduce watering, letting the compost just dry out between watering. Cut back the old leaves from your strawberry plants. If you mulched your plants with straw earlier in the year, remove it now to improve ventilation around the plants. Lift and divide overgrown rhubarb plants, using the blade of spade to split the clumps up. Replant the pieces, making sure each piece has a healthy bud or ‘eye’ that will produce shoots next year. Wrap grease bands around apple trees to protect against winter moths – these bands stop the wingless female moths climbing up the trunks to lay their eggs in the branches. Pick up any damaged fallen fruit to stop fungal spores spreading.
What trees and shrubs to plant in October October is an ideal time to plant trees and shrubs while the soil is still warm from the summer, giving their roots time to establish well in the soil over winter before the plants come back into growth in spring. All deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs can be planted in October, for example: Beech Hornbeam Holly Hawthorn Yew Japanese maple Laurel October is a good month to plant trees and shrubs for winter scent and colour, including: Hamamelis (witch hazel) Cornus sanguinea Sarcococca Viburnum tinus Viburnum x bodnantense How to plant a tree Water the tree well in its pot before planting it. Dig a square hole the same depth as the pot and three times its width. The tree’s roots will spread out better in a square hole than a round one. Remove the tree from its pot, place it in the hole and backfill with soil Don’t enrich the soil in the hole with compost or manure, or the roots will have no incentive to spread out in search of nutrients. Firm the soil gently around the base of the trunk with the heel of your boot. Water well. Stake tall trees after planting to stop them rocking in the wind and loosening the roots. What trees & shrubs to prune in October It’s best to leave most pruning until later in the winter or early spring, but you can still trim yew hedges in October to keep them looking crisp through winter. Trees & Shrubs maintenance in October Move any existing shrubs and trees that are planted in the wrong place. Water them in well after moving them. Take hardwood cuttings of various shrubs, such as dogwoods, philadelphus, flowering currant and forsythia. Check tree ties and stakes are secure, especially on newly planted trees.
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