October Garden and Landscape Tips

Lawn Tips:

• Now is a good time to aerate the lawn, but with this year’s drought you’ll need to water deeply ahead of time to be able to do this!

• Control mole infestations with traps, diligence (sitting in a chair with a pitchfork waiting), or any other concoction someone has told you about.  If it works let us know!  I have read a mixture of castor oil, and detergent sprayed onto and watered into the lawn can get rid of them.

Early:

• Have green tomatoes in the garden? Harvest them before frost, and bring them indoors to ripen.

• If you haven’t brought your houseplants in, you better do so soon. Night temperatures below 50 degrees F is damaging to the cells of many tropical plants. We have already been in the low to mid 40’s several times last month! Yellowing leaves will slowly start to show up from cold injury within a couple weeks, and the plants will be slow to recover from this damage.  Spray for insects before bringing them indoors and reduce watering.

• If you grew sweet potatoes now is the time to harvest them.

• Now that the recent unseasonably late intense heat appears to be over, you can plant fall pansies and mums. This year you’ll need to water them almost daily and mulch deeply to conserve water and prevent heaving from winter freeze / thaw cycles. With luck your pansies will overwinter and come back bigger and better next spring.

• Don’t forget to start preparing your “Thanksgiving” or “Christmas Cactus” for the holidays.  Bright sunlight, followed by complete darkness and drier conditions (but never bone dry!) are needed to set buds.

Middle:

• Normally fall is a great time to plant trees and shrubs. This year however will be risky because of the drought until plant material has shed leaves and has become fully dormant (a couple good heavy frosts and a hard freeze will ensure this). Be sure to keep all newly plant material well watered and mulched.   

• Protect the trunks of young trees with deer protection before the fall rut begins. Plastic or wire fencing, or anything that lets the trunk receive sunlight and air will work. Never use a solid material that shades the trunk or captures rainwater. Buck deer in rut like anything with soft smooth bark, and especially aromatic plants like most conifers.

• This is also normally about as late in the year as possible to move and divide perennial plants (the best time was mid-summer). But once again this year’s drought is in the way by making things even more risky!  All plants are stressed right now, and since transplanting only adds more stress to already weakened plants you’ll be taking a bit more risk this year. Be sure to water deeply before you dig or divide, and keep new transplants well watered.   

Late:

• Plant spring flowering bulbs now. This year it may be wise to invest in a “bulb auger” to get through the hard, dry ground.

• Be sure to clean off and oil all garden tools before they are put away for the winter. Of course your garden power equipment all need to be winterized as well so you might as well make a day of it.