Have you been keeping up with all your gardening jobs this month?
October is an unusual month, with the transition from summer to autumn, so can be quite tricky to figure out what actually needs to be done in the garden this time of year.
Well, here’s a quick check list for you to follow to make sure all your gardening duties are carried out as necessary:
- The biggest job of October is clearing up all the dreaded soggy leaves that have coated your lawn. Clearing up the leaves is pretty important so that sunlight is able to hit the grass and help it grow through winter. There are many methods which can be used to clear your leaves. You could purchase a leaf blower, or rake them, or even run over them with a lawnmower to shred them. Autumn leaves are great for adding to the compost heap, so if you do opt for a leaf blower, make sure you collect the leaves up and add them to your compost so they can decompose naturally.
October is the last chance to mow your lawns and trim your hedges before the winter kicks in.- Re-cut any of your lawns edges if you feel you need to. Lawn edging is a great way of making future lawn maintenance easier.
- Aerate your lawn with an aerator or even a garden fork to avoid water logging through the damp weather.
- If you need to relay any turf, then October is a great month to do so, as the autumn rain will ensure that the turf settles successfully.
- If you have any tender plants, now is the time to put them in protection and move them into the greenhouse, or indoors so they don’t die out through the cold winter frosts.
- Harvest apples, pears, grapes and nuts.
- Finish harvesting beans and peas.
- Prune climbing roses.
- Order your chosen seeds for the following year.
- Cutback all perennials which have died down.
- If your soil is dry, give the lawn a watering, or even spray it with an autumn fertiliser.
- Paint any fences or sheds that you have with preservative just before winter arrives.
- Turn your compost heaps regularly to encourage it to rot down and decompose more quickly.
As you can tell, just because the cold winter is approaching us, it doesn’t mean that autumn is a time to sit back and relax. There’s lots that can be done to help prepare your lawn for the cold times ahead.
