October is a busy time in the garden. There is plenty to harvest, sow, prepare, protect, and craft. Have a look at ideas for things to get done before the winter weather moves in.
If you would like a printable checklist, see the Essential Fall Garden Checklist here.
October Garden Tasks
Here in southwestern Ontario, Canada, our first frost date can vary quite a bit. We may have a rogue snowfall in October and then not see snow again until December or January. Or, those perfect and beautiful cool (but not frosty) days of fall may push right into November.
The unpredictability makes it tricky to get everything just right, but I simply prioritize based on what would be most expensive to forgo or disappointing to neglect and work from there.
This October checklist is essentially the same as the September one but perhaps with a little more urgency to get things done before the ground freezes.
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Grow
Planting, Sowing, & Preparations
Outdoors
The best advice for the fall garden is easy does it! While it’s a good time to sow and transplant many plants, it is not the time to “clean up.” All the living things in our gardens rely on dead and decaying matter like fallen leaves, old plant stems, and rotting tree branches and stumps to fuel the future. Good to know that doing less is more. Win win.
- Prep raised beds for early spring sowing. Weed, add compost, cover with squirrel screens.
- Plant spring and summer flowering bulbs (in ground and containers), and garlic. Tag and photograph planting areas.
Also consider naturalizing your lawn with spring-flowering bulbs. - Sow flower seeds that benefit from a winter chill.
- Use lawnmower to mulch (chop up) fall leaves and add to garden beds and leaf mold pile. Save a few bags for winter composting.
- Divide and transplant astilbe, peony, and more.
- Remove and dispose of any invasive, pest-ridden, or diseased plants or leaves if needed.
- Set up winter bird feeding stations. Clean, repair, store breakable feeders.
- Sow quick-growing veggies for fall harvesting.
- Take hardwood cuttings and root new plants.
- You can also take cuttings from geraniums (Pelargoniums).
- Keep turning the compost pile 2x week until it freezes up.
- Sow cover crops (green manure) to enrich your soil over the winter.
- Did you know some potted chrysanthemums (mums) can be planted in the ground to grow year-round?
Trees
- For many of us, fall is optimum tree planting time.
- After leaf drop, it’s a good time to remove dead, damaged, and diseased branches. Hold off on other pruning until winter dormancy.
Pond
- Maintain pond pump. Remove fall leaves and debris. Have a backup pump on hand in case the current one fails during a winter freeze—this is very important if you have fish.
Patio
- Enclose covered patio with vinyl sheeting. This stuff works very nicely!
Indoors
- Force (grow) indoor flowering bulbs including paperwhites, amaryllis, and more.
- It’s also time to get your Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus ready for blooming.
- And don’t forget to force your poinsettia into bloom.
Wildlife
- Set up winter bird feeding stations. Clean, repair, store breakable feeders.
- Keep bird feeders and water feeders clean and filled.
- Create seed pod bouquets for wild birds
Harvest
- Bring in mature crops – leafy greens, brassicas, fall fruit, late tomatoes, nuts and more.
- And, you can ripen some green tomatoes after picking.
- Carrots, potatoes, beets, turnips, squash to storage.
- Save seeds from favorite plants.
- How to Know When to Harvest Watermelon
- When to Pick Winter Squash and How to Cure and Store It
Overwinter & Protect
- Transition summering houseplants and tender perennials including geraniums (Pelargoniums) and fig trees to life indoors.
- Dig up and store tender bulbs including dahlias*, caladiums, cannas, gladiolas, elephant ears, begonias. *After a few frosts.
- Clean, repair, sharpen garden tools.
- Clean, repair store breakable garden art, flower pots, outdoor furniture and decor.
- Setup winter vegetable garden covers.
- Add wind protectors for vulnerable shrubs.
- Winterize ponds and water features.
- Clean out garden shed.
- Turn off outdoor water faucets. Drain and store garden hoses.
- Dry season? Water trees and young plants.
- Enclose a patio with winter-tough vinyl sheeting.
Make
Creative Fall Projects
- Collect & press flowers, foliage, and seed pods.
- Create with pressed flowers. These beeswax candle bowls are pretty.
- Preserve and display autumn leaves.
- Decorate with easy, no-carve pumpkins.
- Are Halloween pumpkins edible? Find out here.
Halloween
Ideas
Dream & Scheme
- Order seed catalogues or browse online to create your winter and spring wishlists. In general, fresh seeds are viable for two years so you can order ahead now.
- Order bare-roots plants including asparagus and cane fruits (they are shipped at planting time).
- Order seeds for indoor sowing. Get seed starting mix and organic container mix while shops have it in stock.
Observe & Enjoy
You may not know it by the name phenology, but you certainly know what it is. Phenology is the science of observing annual first events in nature. When flower buds open. When peepers first peep. When bees appear. When migrations arrive. When bulbs pop up. The list is endless.
Seasonal changes prompt natural responses in the plant and animal kingdoms. It is interesting to note these events and compare year over year. The more you look, the more you see.
Autumn Phenological Events
Along with shorter days and lower temperatures, here’s a few examples you might notice.
- Tree leaves changing color.
- Bird feeders may be very active as birds prepare for winter.
- Migrating birds and butterflies may pass through your garden.
In the north, it may mean the hummingbirds have headed south. - Flowering plants produce seeds.
- Squirrels and chipmunks increase their food stashes.
- First frost.
Resources
Empress of Dirt
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Fall Garden Checklist
File provides a handy checklist sorted by priority and best timing.
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This outlines all the essential tasks to safely put your garden to bed for the winter.
~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛