Jobs for October

Clearing and Trimming back

Annual beds are being cleared of finished plants and weeds. On a larger scale this is done mechanically with a topper and rotovator. Smaller beds are cleared by hand and forked over. We have a high weed pressure in the field and so it is preferable, although not always possible, to leave beds unplanted for some time to allow weed seeds to germinate. The minute you clear a bed and move the soil, weed seeds which have been lying dormant on and in the ground are triggered into growth. Once the seedlings appear (after about three weeks usually) the plot is rotovated again to kill them. This process might need to be repeated several times.

Another good way to work with plots which are to be left fallow over the winter is to sow them with a winter cover crop, which can then be topped and rotovated in next spring. The cover crop should out compete and smother some weed seedlings and enrich the soil next year. This year we are trying half a plot of forage peas, which should add lots of nitrogen. This bed can then be used for growing a ‘hungry’ crop next year, such as zinnia or antirrhinum.

A cover crop of mixed vetches including field beans and peas

If we have to plant straight into newly cleared ground, which we often do as time is precious, then we also need to be prepared to spend significant time hoeing and handweeding around the new plants until they become established.

Perennial beds and herbaceous borders are given a weed. Some perennials are cut back to tidy them up and allow for easier weeding and mulching. Perennials which are on the more tender side, such as agapanthus get a covering of straw. Some, such as the perennial rudbeckias are left un trimmed, as the seedheads provide a good food source for birds during the winter.

The compost bins are now looking pretty full, while the mulch bins are getting used up at an alarming rate.

Splitting perennial plants

Many of the more vigorous perennials – achillea, symphyotrichum, sanguisorba will be lifted, split and replanted this year to make new plants. October is a good time to do this, while the soil is not too cold, and the plants are not putting on (much) new growth. Tender plants such as pelargoniums need to be lifted, potted up and moved to the conservatory for the winter.

Mulching and creating paths

Plants are mulched with a mix of well-rotted manure, spent compost and bark chippings. Mulching is very important for us, as our soil is a heavy soil with a high proportion of clay. This makes it nutritious, but difficult to work and weed. It lies wet in winter and dries to a hard slab of concrete in summer. Adding lots of organic matter should make it easier to work in time, we’ve had three years on the new plot and haven’t see a big difference yet. As with all things growing, big change takes time. But mulching does also feed the plants and helps to keep down the weeds.

New pathways are made with a layer of cardboard covered in bark chippings, and old pathways are given a top-up layer of chippings.

Plants for next year

Daffodil and allium bulbs are planted this month. We plant all of our alliums in raised beds as they prefer a free-draining soil and do not cope well with our cold clay. Ranunculus and anemone corms are started off in the greenhouse ready to be planted into the polytunnel at the end of the month. By October we have usually finished sowing all of our hardy annual seeds for next year. Plants can still be planted out into the field, but some of the more tender ones – antirrhinum (most cut flower varieties are half-hardy) will need the protection of a low tunnel, or be potted on and left to overwinter in the greenhouse. Perennials can still be sown. Many species require a period of dormancy in cold conditions and will not germinate until spring anway. It is a nice surprise in early March to go into the greenhouse and find the tray of thalictrum seed sown last October is full of little seedlings, ready for potting on.

Planting trees, shrubs and roses

October is the best time to plant new trees and shrubs. After a year of drought our soil is quite compact so planting is hard work this year. To give plants the best start we are digging holes which are much bigger than the rootball of the tree or shrub we are going to plant, and then filling in around the rootball with some of the soil which has been mixed with a good amount of well-rotted manure. This will allow the plant to put on good root growth, establish more quickly and give it a good feed for it’s first year. To help keep weeds down and keep moisture in around the base of the plant, we will often surround the base of plant with a cardboard ‘collar’ which we will then cover with a layer of bark mulch.