October

Vegetables

Plant out Japanese and Autumn Onion Sets. 

Plant out Garlic.

Spring Cabbages can be transplanted, spacing them 30cm (12”) apart.

Sow Winter Lettuce and protect with fleece.

Sow Broad Beans outside ( Aquadulce )  last two weeks of the Month. ( see November ).

They only want to be 2-3 inches high to take them through the winter. They will be prone to breaking off in the wind if they get any higher, if so they will require supporting.

Bean poles and supports should be cleaned and stored ready for next year.

Harvesting

Pumpkin Season is with us now. Make Pumpkin Pie / Pumpkin Soup and don't forget the Lanterns for Children at Halloween.

Continue lifting carrots and beetroot, plus any remaining potatoes still underground. Only store healthy, intact roots.

Parsnips should be left in, as they taste better once frosted.

Pick the last of the remaining runner beans.

Herbs

Lift and divide sections of selected herbs. Once potted, they can be brought into the kitchen.
Basil will not survive outside during the winter, so bring it into the greenhouse, or to a heated conservatory, to protect it from the cold. Keep pinching off any flower heads that appear, to keep the plant focussed on foliage production.

Fruit

Lift and divide old crowns of rhubarb.
Pick grapes when ripe.
Harvest apples and pears for eating or storing. Only store unblemished fruit to prevent it rotting in storage.
Pick blackberries, hybrid berries and autumn raspberries.
Cut down the fruited canes of blackberries and hybrid berries and tie in new ones.
Take hardwood cuttings of currants, gooseberries and grape vines after leaf fall.
Order fruit trees and bushes and prepare the ground well before planting.
New trees can be planted as soon as the autumn weather sets in. The soil will still be quite warm in early October.

Collect fallen apples and pears affected with brown rot. Pick off any affected fruit that remains on the tree.
Do not let fallen apple and pear leaves infected with scab or European pear rust lie on the ground at the base of the tree. 
Put up sticky grease bands on fruit trees to protect them.

Keep an eye on any newly planted strawberry beds, watering them if necessary. Clean up old strawberry beds, removing yellow foliage, old runners and any plants that look as if they may have virus.
Keep nets or cages over ripening fruits to protect them from birds.
Monitor yields on soft fruit crops, as older plants frequently become infected with viruses, which reduce yield. If this happens they may need replacing. 
Prune out any dead, dying or diseased shoots on apple and pear trees that are affected by canker or other problems that can continue to worsen over the winter. Don't prune stone fruits after midsummer.

Around the Garden

Turn your recent compost weekly to keep it well aerated and before animal hibernation begins.

Give your hedges a final trim.

Clear the area from fallen tree fruit and burn.

Dig up outdoor tomato plants and hang them upside-down in the greenhouse to allow the fruits to ripen. Any that don’t ripen can be used green in chutneys.

Keep an eye on Brussels sprouts, removing yellowing leaves.

Remove all plant debris from the vegetable patch or allotment.