October Garden Tips

Here we are – October Garden Tips! Where we live in the Catskills, the transition from Autumn to Winter can be rather abrupt. Basically, around mid-October, it can start snowing. (We’ve even seen flurries as early as September!)

It generally doesn’t stop until sometime in May, with an occasional flurry in June.

We are frantically pulling out the weedy, dead areas, as well as putting away any outdoor “decor.”

The happy part is, now is the time to plan for next year!

October Garden Tips:

1-Lighten your gardening schedule. There is a reason for each season. We all need to rest and replenish. Accept the each new day as it comes. This gives you a good excuse to leave some flowering plants for the few pollinators that are hanging on. I’m amazed at how they can survive as the temperatures drop.

Clean-up before the snow starts

2- Check your fruit trees and berries to see if there are any dead, diseased, or rotting parts. Prune them. Pull the weeds around the plants. Put protective tree trunk guards around the bottoms of your young trees, if applicable.

3-Do just a little bit of garden clean-up each week (or day, depending on the size of your garden).

4-Clear debris from your flower beds. Plant fall flowers, such as mums, if you like.

Fall Plantings and More Cleaning

5-The bulbs and/or perennials you ordered in September should have arrived by now. Plant them. I love to add to my daffodils/narcissus each year. If you don’t have a problem with deer, squirrels, etc., plant tulips and other bulbs. Now is also a good time to plant your garlic!

6-Cut the dead parts off shrubs and other ornamental plants.

Harvest the Rest

7- Harvest and dry any remaining herbs. This time of year I grab the remaining lavender flowers, parsley, and rosemary. (I also try to get in some end-of-season bouquets.)