October in your garden…

The chill has arrived (along with some more rain!) which means Autumn is in full swing – but there’s still plenty to do in the garden! Chris and Diane are back for some monthly gardening tips. Here’s a few things you can be getting on with during October…

• Cut back perennials that have died down, you can also divide your herbaceous perennials.
• Divide established rhubarb crowns to create new plants
• If you have tender plants including aquatic ones move them into the greenhouse or conservatory as the temperature is now dropping!
• Harvest your apples, pears, grapes, and nuts
• It is also time to prune your climbing roses if you have them
• Collect seeds from the garden to sow next year
• Last chance to mow lawns and trim hedges in mild areas. It’s also a good idea to renovate old lawns and create new ones by laying turf
• Remember to sweep up any fallen leaves that may harbour fungal spores and provide ideal hiding places for slugs and snails. Put your leaves in a heap at the bottom of your garden. As this will make good leaf mould for your garden.
• Clean up rose leaves to prevent diseases such as blackspot from over wintering to avoid the spread of damaging fungi. Important!: Don’t put them in your compost bin! If you’re able to burn them do so or put them in your garden waste bin.
• October is also a good month to plant hedges and move trees and shrubs.
• If you are going to grow beans next year prepare the site by digging a trench and filling with manure or kitchen waste during the Winter.
• Harvest your pumpkins and squashes before the frosts as they soon turn mushy
• It’s also time to put grease bands around the trunks of apple trees to trap winter moth females whose caterpillars shred spring flowers and reduce your crop. Find some more useful info on these right here: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=518
• If you had straw around your strawberries it’s time to remove it to increase ventilation and also shear back old foliage to encourage fresh growth.
• If you have a pond, put a net over it to prevent leaves falling into them. Also, if you need to remove pond weed leave it by the pond for a day to allow any wildlife to escape back in to the water. 🙂