What to do in October
October is the month to tidy up, store what you’ve grown and get next year started. Here’s what to do before the weather turns.
Harvest
- Lift the last of the maincrop potatoes and carrots, and leave them to dry before storing.
- Pick winter squash and pumpkins before the first frost, and cure them in a sunny spot for a week or two.
- Pick any remaining apples and pears. Only store undamaged fruit, and check it regularly.
- Take the last of the tomatoes, peppers and chillies. Green tomatoes will ripen indoors on a windowsill.
Sow and plant
- Plant garlic and autumn onion sets.
- Sow broad beans and hardy peas for an early crop next year.
- Plant spring cabbages and lettuces if you have space.
- Sow a green manure such as mustard or field beans on empty beds. It keeps weeds down and feeds the soil.
Fruit
- Plant bare-root fruit trees and bushes from late October onwards, while the soil is still workable.
- Cut back the old fruited canes on summer raspberries and tie in the new ones.
- Take hardwood cuttings of currants and gooseberries.
Tidy and protect
- Clear spent crops and remove any diseased material. Don’t compost blighted potato or tomato plants.
- Spread compost or well-rotted manure on empty beds and let the worms pull it down over winter.
- Collect fallen leaves and pile them up to make leaf mould.
- Earth up leeks and brassicas, and stake tall sprouts and kale against autumn winds.
- Cover crops like winter salad and spinach with fleece or cloches if a cold snap comes.
Plot and site
- Empty and clean your water butts, and check the gutters on your shed.
- Clean and oil your tools before putting them away for winter.
- Check paths and edges, and lay cardboard or woodchip where the mud gets bad.
- Bring in any tender plants and lift dahlias once the frost has blackened the foliage.
