Health & Fitness
OCTOBER GARDEN TASKS
It’s a great time to add plants to your garden! The weather is mild, soil still warm and rain is around the corner...this means less transplant shock.
Plant for fall and winter color Chrysanthemums, violets, primroses, cyclamen really brighten up the garden. Plant Coleus varieties for the myriad of colorful foliage choices. I use them in pots because when the first frost comes they usually get wiped out. They’re still worth it!
Plant spring-blooming bulbs this month and next Dutch Iris, Freesia, Hyacinth, Narcissus can be planted now and will reward you with blooms in late winter and spring. Best selection is now at your local nursery and hardware store.
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Sow seeds of spring-blooming annuals such as Clarkia (farewell-to-spring), Nigella (love-in-a-mist) California poppy and sweet peas.
Plant trees, hardy shrubs, groundcovers and frost-tolerant perennials.
Find out what's happening in San Leandrowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Fertilize azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons with no nitrogen formula (0-10-10) to encourage bud formation but not new leafy growth.
Divide Agapanthus, daylilies, irises, primroses, shasta daisies Pull up plant with shovel or pitchfork, ease roots or bulbs apart. Replant and share extras.
Remove spent blossoms on all flowering plants.
Keep weeding Oxalis is starting to show up...keep pulling them up regularly before they bloom!
Clean up plant debris Remove fallen leaves especially from inside and under plants.
Vegetable and Fruit Garden
Sow cool-season crops like beets, carrots, onions, peas and radishes.
Plant bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprout, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, garlic, lettuce and spinach from nursery starts.
Continue to harvest! Pick all fruit and vegetables that are ready. Clean up decaying matter off ground.
Garden bed clean up If not planning a cool-season garden- clean up plant debris, cover with cardboard and add mulch on top. In the spring you will be ready to plant with minimal weeding; simply add some compost and plant! Alternatively you can plant a cover crop like fava beans that will fix nitrogen in soil and loosen compaction.
Read more of Angele's gardening and landscaping tips in the Patch Archives.
