Gardening in the Month of October

With fall well set-in and winter around the corner, here are some ideas and recommendations for caring for your garden in October

• Stop pruning and fertilizing as you don’t want to encourage new, tender growth just before cold weather arrives.
• Plant spring bulbs (options listed above) before the middle of the month and, once planted, add a layer of blood meal to keep the squirrels at bay.
• Stop watering both evergreen and deciduous trees to help them prepare for winter.
• Dig and store bulbs such as dahlias, gladiolus, cannas, and elephant ears by cutting back the green stems, drying them out, and storing them in peat moss in your basement.
• Pot-up any annuals you want to try and overwinter (I often overwinter mandevilla, geraniums, coleus, and various colorful vines for use in containers the following summer).
• Rake the lawn and garden areas to clean up fallen leaves.
• Do a little fall weed control using non-chemical methods such as boiling water (used for weeds in pavers) or the old ‘dig and pull’ method to stay ahead of spring weeds (an ounce of prevention…).