OCTOBER GARDENING - WHAT TO DO?

  As the days get shorter and the nights cool down, you realize winter is just around the corner.  It’s time to relax and wait for spring to arrive….WRONG !!!

There are still many chores to accomplish – even after the first frost.  So whether you’re a novice or a savvy gardener, dig in and get busy with the fall chores.  Performing a few of these end of the season tasks will keep your garden looking it’s best for the rest of the season and pay off with beautiful blooms and a thicker lawn for spring and summer.

Mowing, fertilizing, cleaning, planting and watering continue to beckon. Lawns need mowing as long as the grass continues to grow, some years continuing through most of the fall.

October is he ideal month for an application of a fall or winter lawn fertilizer.  If the lawn needs to be aerated, do this first.

Included in lawn care is, of course, the annual raking of fall leaves.  A good means of dealing with this seemingly constant chore in October is a little bit often.  Raking your entire yard in a weekend will often lead to disappointment when the next day you are looking at yet another blanket of leaves. 

Fallen leaves should be recycled, either where they fall or transferred to another spot.  Dry leaves can be mowed to bits, gathered for use as winter mulch or raked to the compost pile.  Small leaves, such as honey locust may be left as is, but larger leaves such as oak and maple, should be shredded to speed decomposition and prevent smothering.

Annual plants with brown and shriveled foliage should be completely removed from the garden.  Removing spent foliage is an excellent way to reduce the chance of fungi and insect pests to over-winter.

Fall is a great time to plant perennials, bulbs, trees and shrubs.  The chrysanthemum, also called a mum is considered the queen of fall color.  There are many beautiful mums on the market now but also consider asters, pansies and the flowering cabbage and kale for instant fall color.  Not only are the cabbage and kale great for outstanding color, but the leaves can serve as a garnish or edible underling on salad platters.  The colder the weather gets, the sharper the color on cabbage and kale.

What could your landscape use now?  Look at areas of the garden that need screening, could use a shade tree, or just need the boost of an intriguing new shrub.  Nurseries and garden centers have good supplies of plants this month, and large price discounts.

Newly planted flowers, trees and shrubs should be watered thoroughly every week or so right up until the ground freezes, especially if rain fall is lacking.  Perennials, trees and shrubs all continue to lose water through the winter, so you want them to go into dormancy with plenty of moisture.  Dry soil through the fall is one of the major contributing factors in plants not over-wintering well. Be diligent about places where your soil may dry more quickly, such as under evergreen plants and near the house.

TOM’S TIMELY TIPS FOR OCTOBER

•          Maintain bird feeders for over-wintering songbirds.

• Winterize and maintain your lawn and garden equipment once you are through using.

• Bring in all houseplants before frost.

• Hold off on fertilizing house plants – resume in March.

• Pot chives, oregano, basil or rosemary for winter use indoors.

Tom McNutt is a professor emeritus at The Ohio State University and a retired TV garden expert.