10/05/2021
October
Plant garlic, shallots, and perennial onions.
Plant spring flowering bulbs like tulip, daffodil, hyacinth, and crocus. Place chicken wire on the ground over newly planted bulbs to deter animals from digging.
Drain the hoses and empty the bird baths before a hard frost.
Potted perennials can be buried in an empty part of the vegetable garden or surrounded with a thick layer of straw to get them through the winter.
Collect soil samples now for testing to prepare for next year’s fertilization of the lawn, the vegetable garden, the shrub border and flower beds. Submit separate samples for distinct areas used to grow different types of plants and where growing conditions are different for the same plants. A shady lawn area on a slope should be a different sample than a sunny lawn area.
Dig and divide spring and summer flowering perennials now. Late summer and fall flowering ones can be done in the spring. Cut foliage back, replant and water well. Wait until winter is in full-swing to add new mulch for winter protection during their first winter.
Keep an eye on the weather and harvest any remaining summer produce like beans, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes before a hard frost rolls in.
Cut and dry or freeze remaining herbs.
Remove, chop, and compost asparagus tops after they have yellowed and died for the season. Wait until later in winter to mulch.
Save seeds from favorite self-pollinating, non-hybrid flowers such as marigolds by allowing the flower heads to mature. Lay seeds on newspaper and turn them often to dry. Store the dry seeds in glass jars or envelopes in a cool, dry, dark place.
Make a note of any particular productive or unsatisfactory varieties of vegetables that you planted this year. Such information can be very useful when planning next years' garden.
Leave seed heads on asters, sunflowers, and cosmos for birds to eat.
Thin any greens like kale, chard, and spinach that you won’t overwinter, and eat the thinnings.
Cover broccoli and cauliflower on frosty nights.
