Oct 3, 2013
To all the lovely people,
Your garden to do list for October. Please write with any questions. We are having beautiful fall weather here in Aromas. Last afternoon we harvested our first fall Kale and enjoyed bean, rice and kale burritos for our evening meal - delicious!
Paul
Zone 9
- For spring bloom, broadcast wildflower seeds over soil that has been lightly cultivated.
- Plant fast-growing, frost-resistant veggies: radishes, mustard, spinach, ‘Tokyo Market' turnips, and corn salad.
- Divide and transplant bearded irises, daylilies, phlox, cannas, and Shasta daisies.
- Harvest sweet potatoes after tops wither, but before the first hard frost.
- Harvest winter squash, pumpkins, and peanuts before frost.
- Clean up fallen fruit in the orchard.
- Build a hot compost pile to kill pathogens lurking in garden debris: Use a high-nitrogen material, such as grass clippings or seafood shells.
Zone 10
- Set out transplants of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.
- Mulch and water well—dry spells this month can last a week or longer.
- Finish pruning fruit trees so new sprouts can harden before cold arrives.
- Plant colorful bloomers, such as sweet alyssum, begonias, petunias, and pansies.
- Prepare beds for planting roses; plant them late this month.
- Fertilize plants that flower in winter.
- Plant strawberries and brassicas (except brussels sprouts—it's too warm) early in the month.
- In midmonth, direct-seed root crops and beans.
- Near the end of the month, sow lettuce, spinach, and other greens.