October

The Edible Garden

Old, established rhubarb crowns can now be lifted and divided. Fruit trees can be planted this month.
Pick apples and pears, checking for insect damage or disease of any kind before storing in a cool dry place.
Continue to harvest pumpkins and squashes, leaving them to dry off in the sun or warm greenhouse before storing.
Carrots can be dug now and stored for winter use.
Dig beetroot and preserve for eating during the winter.
Parsnips are best left in the ground as they benefit from frosts.
Sow broad beans direct into the garden for spring eating.
Plant out spring cabbages.
Clear off the tops of peas and beans and then dig the roots into the soil. This provides nitrogen back into the soil.
Cleared patches of the vegetable garden can be dug over now and if not to be reused sow a green manure crop such as mustard. Let this grow over winter and dig into the ground in early spring.
 

The Flower Garden

Plant lily bulbs in pots . If brought inside they will provide an early spring show, or if left outdoors will provide colour in the summer.
Clear away any left over summer bedding and prepare soil and re-plant with autumn and winter flowering colour.
Empty out hanging baskets and containers and re-plant with spring bulbs, heathers, trailing ivies and spring flowering bedding.
Continue planting spring flowering bulbs. New perennials can be planted this month.
 

General

Prune bush and climbing roses this month. If you have any trees or shrubs that you want to shift to another part of the garden, now is a good time to do it.
Bare-rooted deciduous trees and shrubs, and evegreens with wrapped root balls, will become available this month. Plant as soon as possible and don’t let the root systems dry out in the interim.
Spread autumn leaves in layers in the compost heap between lawn clippings and kitchen and other organic waste. The addition of a compost maker will speed up the decomposition process.
Watch out for slugs and snails around newly planted bedding and seedlings, and lay pellets as necessary. Clean out birdbaths and top with fresh water. Top up bird feeders and bird tables. Replenish borders with hardy evergreen shrubs and grasses.
 

What to look for in store this Month

Cordylines
Phormium
Agaves
Grasses
Ornamental trees
Pansies and other bedding
Wild bird food and bird feeders.
Chicken manure.