What to do in the garden in October

In the garden

October is a good month for planting trees, shrubs and hedges. Temperatures are mild, the rain arrives and the soil is still warm. Dig wide holes, mix the soil with compost and water well when you plant, even if rain follows.

After storms, check for waterlogged areas or washed-away soil and sort out the drainage.

Lawn

Finish any reseeding and give the last feed before the cold. Mow regularly and gradually lower the cutting height to about 5 cm. Clear fallen leaves so they don’t block the light.

Watering

Water only when the soil is dry about 5 cm down. In rainy weeks, switch off the timer. Newly planted plants do need regular watering if more than ten days go by without rain.

Pruning

• A final hedge trim before winter.
• Tidy up shrubs that have finished flowering.
• Remove dead or dangerous branches before the autumn winds.

Vegetables and fruit trees

The persimmon harvest begins. Cut the fruit with secateurs and leave a bit of stalk. Plant garlic, broad beans and peas, and plant out cabbages, lettuces and onions. On citrus, check early varieties for fruit fly.

Plants of the month

• Shade trees: nettle tree, ash, chinaberry, carob.
• Mediterranean shrubs: mastic tree, myrtle, coronilla, rosemary.
• Spring bulbs: daffodils, tulips, hyacinths.
• Winter flowers: pansies, violas, cyclamen.
• Olive trees and fruit trees in pots to plant now.

Hedra’s tip

October is also when the processionary caterpillar starts to show on some pines: the first nests are small and easy to cut off. Check your pines every few weeks from now until January. Cutting off a young nest with its branch is much easier and safer than doing it at the end of winter, when the caterpillars are already big.