Welcome to October in the garden. The first rains are beginning and the weather has turned decidedly chilly. Does that mean you get a break from gardening? Heck no! There is lots to be done (are you getting the idea that there is always lots to do in the garden no matter what the season?). It’s a kind of two pronged approach this time of year. Summer’s bounty is coming to an end but there are still lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and zucchini yet to be picked. The time is coming when a decision has to be made. Do you pull the remaining plants to make way for cover crops, or do you let them stand to see how far into the year you can harvest a tomato? Most years I let Mother Nature make the decision for me. Last year it was an early frost, this year for some reason my tomatoes just weren’t ripening, so they got ripped out and the beds were prepared for garlic planting. It’s all about finishing up the old and preparing for the new.

Preparation, that’s what it is all about right now. Now is the time to spread manure or compost and any other amendments your garden may need. These may include lime, soft rock phosphate, green sand and kelp. If you have a chicken coop this is the perfect time to muck it out and spread all that lusciousness on the garden or throw it on the compost. This is a great time to get those cover crops started too. Oleander should be pruned now and all your shrubs would appreciate a bit of fertilizer. While you are cleaning up the garden it’s a great time to get a new compost pile started. Just pile all those weeds and spent veggie plants in a convenient corner and let them sit. Every little bit you do now to prepare is going to pay off big come spring.

The rains are starting, so your work is a bit easier, but be sure to water if things are looking dry. Planting trees, shrubs and hardy perennial plants is a great thing to do in fall. Many of the nurseries are having sales to clear out their stock of plants, so you can get some great bargains. All the trees and many of the shrubs are changing color now too so you get to see what they will look like in your yard in the fall. It’s been shown in tests that fall planted perennials do much better the following year than the same variety planted in the spring. The fall planted perennials get all winter to sink their roots and settle in so when warm spring weather comes they are raring to go.

October is the prime time to get your garlic, onions and spring flowering bulbs. And don’t forget to plant a few cool weather annual flowers for color through the fall and into winter. Calendula, sweet alyssum, pansies, violas, lobelia, snapdragons, stock, primulas and flowering cabbages and kale are all great choices, many of them will flower throughout the winter and into next spring.

Happy gardening