HOME GROWN
October is a busy month in the garden; the warmer, longer days certainly get you outside. Most of your vegetables plants will be in the ground and some of you in the warmer climates will be planting your successive crops. Slugs and Snails will be your biggest enemy right now; they can eat through a young garden over night!
Tomatoes can be planted now as the weather is more reliable, see our Growing tomatoes
Thin any crops that have become over crowded, if some are struggling, remove and replace, it is still early enough in the season.
In cooler climates Labour Day is a good guide to planting out rock and watermelons, cover at night if it gets cold.
Pumpkins, capsicums, chilies, carrot, broccoli, cucumbers, beetroot, cabbage, spinach, silver beet, can all go in the ground now
Plant successive crops of peas, beans and lettuce.
Continue to feed your potatoes every 2 weeks, mound up the soil around your potatoes as they grow.
White Butterfly will be active, remove the caterpillars by hand or apply McGregor’s Derris Dust, make sure to check under the leaves where they like to hide. For a natural alternative try sprinkle white pepper.
Continue feeding all vegetable crops with a liquid fertiliser.
Rhubarb can be planted now, they like a well-drained spot, where its large leaves won’t shade other crops. They will benefit from a heavy dose of compost added to the soil before you plant, feed fortnightly with a liquid feed. Don’t harvest from a young rhubarb plant in its first season, in the second year harvest sparingly, in the third season you can harvest fully. See our guide to growing Rhubarb
GARDEN COLOUR
As the foliage dies away from your spring bulbs feed with blood and bone, the bulb uses this time to store food ready for next season. When the foliage is ready to be removed it will come away easily in your hand. Most bulbs can be left in the ground for many years before you need to divide them up, the exceptions are tulips and hyacinths; they are just too tender to winter over in the ground and will often rot away. Lift these bulbs, remove any soil and leave to dry ready for next season.
Feed your Hibiscus with citrus fertiliser
New season colour petunias, marigolds, cosmos, dahlias, gazania plus many more are now in store
Petunia “Bubblegum” these are the ones we plant in the front garden are now in store
IN THE FRUIT GARDEN
Now the danger of frosts has passed, tree tomatoes and passion fruit can be planted.
New citrus can be planted see our guide to growing citrus
Copper Oxychloride can be sprayed on citrus for protection against Verrucosis and brown rot, check for signs of borer and prune away weak of damaged growth.
Tie up any new growth on your grapes.
Feed your passionfruit its spring dose of fertiliser, use Citrus fertiliser.
Feed strawberries as they show their flowers see our guide to growing strawberries
Hang you codlin and guava moth traps to help break the breeding cycle.
LAWN CARE
Fix any hollows in the lawn by cutting around the area a little larger than the hollow. Carefully lift up the existing turf up by pushing your spade underneath at a depth of about 6-8 cm. If it is a large area you may need to lift in pieces, keep the lifted turf to one side. Use topsoil to fill the hollow, slightly overfill as it will settle in time. Tamp the new soil down with the end of your rake, place your turf back and again firm it down, water well until the grass settles and the patch merges.
Fertilise established lawns now, spread it evenly as clumps will burn the foliage, water after application.
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