In October, the first frost usually turns the foliage of tender plants such as dahlias black. Fall foliage also begins to change color and fall off as time goes by. It's time to take down the summer decorations and prepare the garden for the coming winter.
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Caring for the garden in October
Transparent leaves
The easiest way to remove leaves from your yard is with a lawn mower . The cutting action of a lawnmower blade helps tear leaves and accelerates leaf decomposition.
Collect leaves like this once a week - any more and the grass will get longer and be harder to cut.
For cleaning driveways, walkways, and other surfaces, a leaf blower is your best choice. Toss the leaves onto the lawn for the lawnmower to pick up, or toss them on a tarp and take them to the compost pile.
Check out our top five leaf blowers
Turn the compost pile over
Cleaning up the garden before winter produces a lot of compostable material. To speed up decomposition, turn the contents periodically, stir and allow sufficient air flow.
In cold weather, the rate of decomposition naturally slows, but in warm weather, the rate of decomposition increases rapidly.
Browse our Best Buy compost bins
Weeding
In warm weather, weeds continue to germinate and grow actively. So be careful and delete them when you see them. Try to uproot them rather than dig them up, as you will most likely end up pulling them out, roots and all.
Try weed control membrane from Best Buy.
Collect leaves from hard surfaces and walkways.
October is usually the start of leaf fall. It's good to limit it. However, on roads and hard surfaces it is best to collect them immediately, because they can be very slippery, especially in wet weather. You can remove leaves from your lawn by cutting them with a lawn mower.
Replace your lawn mower with one from Best Buy .
How do you make leaf molds?
of which Horticulture has tried several methods to obtain leaf mold, and this method is the most prominent:
Turn leaves into a lawnmower by placing the lawnmower on them or by collecting them with a leaf blower and vacuum cleaner .
- If the leaves are not yet wet, mist them with water.
- Put it in a black plastic bag and close it tightly when it's full.
- Poke several holes in the bag with a garden fork.
- Leave your bag in a quiet corner of the park.
- Your light, finely ground slabs will be ready in 12 months.
Try the garden shredder at Best Buy
Greenhouse glass cleaning
Remove glass and plastic from all growing structures to increase light exposure to plants. This makes a big difference in the harsh winter months and prevents your plants from growing tall and spindly looking for light.
How to buy the best greenhouse
Plant your vegetables in October
Weeding and mulching
After the final harvest, water well and spread a layer of compost 3 to 5 cm deep, but the new bed can be 10 cm deep to protect and fertilize the soil organisms that maintain aeration and soil structure. Homemade compost is best, but if you don't have enough, buy green waste compost, spent mushroom compost, or well-rotted manure. They can be ordered online and delivered to your home.
Learn how to compost
Plant garlic
Cut the onion into individual cloves and press into the soil (use a spatula so as not to damage it), covering only the ends. Divide the seeds into 6-inch by 12-inch rows to make weeding easier.
If possible, grow garlic in a greenhouse or cold tunnel, as outdoor plants have been exposed to rust in recent years and do not grow as large as indoor plants. They should be ready to harvest next June.
Try Our Best Buy Garlic Varieties
Sow carrots
Sow carrots under cover or in a cool greenhouse or tunnel in mid-month to overwinter as seedlings and harvest in April.
Try different Best Buy carrots
Plant spring cabbage
If you can afford spring cabbage or crops you sowed four to six weeks ago, early October is a great time to plant. Make sure to cover it with netting or a fence to keep pigeons and rabbits out .
Find out how to protect plants from pigeons
Remove greenhouse plants
Greenhouse crops, such as tomatoes , reach their peak in October; so remove old plants and throw them in the compost bin . If you have green tomatoes, we've found that the best way to ripen them is to store them in a dark, warm place at room temperature, like a kitchen drawer.
Plant-based winter salads
Winter lettuce planted in modular trays in September should do well enough to transplant. It is best grown under protection, in a cool greenhouse or outdoors under a canopy or insect screen. First, cover the bed with a layer of mulch 3-5 cm thick, then space the plants 20 cm apart as the plants grow from November to early May.
Grow our Best Buy lettuce varieties
Plant and flower projects for October
Plant spring pots
If you've never planted spring flower containers, now you can plant bedding plants such as pansies and bulbs, as well as spring flowers.
Place the flowers in a sheltered location, such as under a patio, to encourage winter blooming and prevent the plants from rotting in wet winters. Cyclamen and ornamental cabbage are particularly susceptible to rot in wet conditions.
In cool weather you won't get a large number of blooms, but the cooler seasons of the year will provide a good picture.
Be sure to use Best Buy compost for the container.
Protect sensitive plants
If you have tender plants like marijuana, now is the time to bring them inside before a frost kills them.
Choose a bright, frost-free location, such as a greenhouse or cool room. Then keep them dry to prevent them from growing over the winter.
The plant will be able to grow again in the spring, gradually increasing the amount of water it receives.
Find out what to look for in a greenhouse
Permanent shop
Cut the plants that look best. Those with seed heads can be left to provide winter food for birds.
Try a squirrel-proof bird feeder from Best Buy.
Remove summer beds
Summer trash is no longer optimal and it's time to clean it up and put it in the compost pile. You can then mulch the bare soil with compost to allow the worms to move into the soil and improve over the winter. It will be ready to start again in the spring.
Make indoor bulbs bloom this Christmas
Early varieties of hyacinth are planted in early October. Place in a cool, dark place (10°C) until the shoots are about 5 cm high before putting them indoors.
In mid-October, plant early varieties of Hippeastrum (Amaryllis). Bigger lights make for a better show. Place in a pot 2-3 cm wide from the tuber. Water enough until the leaves appear.
Dahlia dies
Dahlias bloom until frost turns the foliage black. So encourage your plants to produce beautiful flowers by removing old, wilted flowers. Dead heads can be placed in the compost bin .
Learn how to grow dahlias
