October Gardening: Tasks and Tips

October is the time of year for pumpkins, squash, scrunching through piles of fall leaves, and enjoying the last of the lovely weather before winter sets in. Here in Virginia, October can go either way — sometimes it stays warm, and sometimes the first frosts move in and finish off the summer vegetables. At this point in the gardening year, I don’t mind so much. I harvest the sweet potatoes and squash, clean up the garden, and enjoy all the spooky old movies on television.

October Gardening Tips

Plant Flower Bulbs for Spring

• Plant your spring-flowering bulbs anytime after Columbus Day. Plant bulbs with the pointy side facing up.
• Check the planting depth on the bulb package and follow those directions. A bulb planter — a special tool that helps you dig soil out of the planting hole easily — often has a ruler etched into the side of the digging part, which makes it easy to measure the right amount of soil to remove.
• Layer early, mid, and late blooming bulbs in the same planting hole to get a continuous display of color from early to late spring.
• If rodents and squirrels dig up your bulbs, you have a few options. Ropel is a liquid that, when sprayed onto bulbs, makes them taste bad to animals — just follow the package directions carefully, since it can make your food taste bad too if it gets on your hands.
• Hot pepper flakes sprinkled into the planting hole and on top of the ground are a natural deterrent to animals seeking to dig up your bulbs.

Clean Up the Garden

• Rake autumn leaves from lawns and gardens. Shred them and add them to the compost pile.
• Cut back perennials that have been nipped by frost. Good garden hygiene now can prevent insect and disease problems later.
• Bring fountains, bird baths, and terra cotta or ceramic pots indoors. Clean them with water and a good scrub brush before storing.
• Bring out the bird feeders if they aren’t already up. Fill seed and suet feeders and hang them where you can enjoy watching the birds.
• Fertilize autumn lawns. Your local Cooperative Extension Office can offer information, instructions, and free handouts.

House Plants

• Bring houseplants indoors. Spray them with the garden hose first to remove any insects before bringing houseplants inside.
• Help your Christmas cactus set blooms. Use a plant light and timer to make sure it gets 12 hours of light daily. Evening temperatures of 55 to 60 degrees help holiday cactus to set blossoms in time for the holidays.

Fall Decorations

• Buy pumpkins and squash close to Halloween to keep animals from nibbling them beforehand.
• Tie up old corn stalks from the garden to make fall decorations.

Preserve the Harvest

• Dry herbs from the garden, especially tender ones like basil. Tie them in a bunch and hang them in a warm, dry area, or spread them on a cookie sheet in the warm sunlight during the day, bringing them inside at night.
• Or freeze them instead: chop the herbs in a food processor, mix with a little water, and freeze in an ice cube tray. When you’re ready to cook, just toss a cube into the pot — instant herbs.
• Clean all your garden tools now, before you put them away for the season. Take pruners to the garden center to have the blades replaced, so they’re ready to go again in spring.
• Visit your local garden center for end-of-season clearance sales. Fall is an excellent time to plant perennials, shrubs, and trees, and many garden centers want to sell out their stock rather than over-winter it — which often means great bargains for you.

October asks a little of everything from a gardener: harvesting, tidying, planting, and getting ready for the months ahead. Work through these tasks now, and your garden — and your spring self — will thank you.