Garden Notes: October

Here is the third set of my Garden notes..for the other sets click 'Label below and scroll down.

October Notes

Pot up a few roots of mint to grow inside for winter use

Apply grease bands to apple & pear trees and rose bushes to control scab and blackspot

Cut summer wildflower meadows - remove hay - cut lawns for the last time - service mower

Divide and replant rhubarb

Cloche autumn-fruiting strawberries to prolong harvesting - when finished remove old leaves, weed and take mulch away

Sweep up fallen leaves and put them into a wire netting container to make leafmould - treat beds to a good dressing of well-rotted leafmould

Cut down Jerusalem artichokes, earth up leeks; clear away pea sticks

Sow sweet peas in old toilet rolls or deep pots in a cold frame - soak seed overnight before planting

Leave flower heads to supply seed for birds and places for ladybirds and other critters to hibernate - save seed from those that interest you for next year

Plant spring cabbage, autumn onion sets and garlic, sow broad beans, peas and a final sowing of winter-hardy lettuce and sow green manures like grazing rye or field beans

Prolong greenhouse growth by extra insulation with bubble polythene sheeting

Prune blackcurrant bushes anytime after leaf fall - use prunings for hardwood cuttings - other possible hardwood cuttings include dogwoods, flowering currants, mock orange; willows

Bring into the greenhouse potted figs and bays that have stood out for the summer

Harvest pumpkins as late as possible so that they ripen well - but before the first frost

Plant garlic cloves from mid-October - choose large, healthy bulbs and plant in deeply dug, composted soil