October
In The Vegetable Garden This October
Finish harvesting peas and beans. When they have finished cropping simply cut the plant away at ground level, leaving the roots in the soil.
When you harvest your cabbage, leave the root in the ground and make a cut across the stem to encourage a flush or smaller leaves.
Harvest pumpkins and squashes before the first frosts. They quickly turn mushy if left outside.
If you plan to grow peas and beans next year, start preparing the site by digging trenches and filling with manure.
Cut back yellowing asparagus foliage to within 5cm of the ground.
Protect autumn cauliflower heads from frost by wrapping the outer leaves around them and securing them with spring, or alternatively use a cloche or fleece.
Reuse old grow bags by cutting the top and sowing late salad crops. Cropping can be extended into winter if grown under glass cloches or inside polytunnels.
Top Tip:
Hang tomato plants and pepper plants with green fruits upside down indoors to ripen.
This Month's Key Tips
- Cut back perennials that have died down.
- Harvest fruit trees, such as apples, pears and grapes.
- Move tender plants, including aquatic ones into the greenhouse.
- Clear up fallen leaves on a regular basis.
- Renovate old lawns or create new grass areas by laying turf.
