October Plantings
Believe it or not, early October can be prime time planting season. After all, Fall usually doesn’t arrive for gardeners until the middle of the month at the earliest. With that said, let’s take a look at just a few of your choices as well as considerations for ensuring healthy growth during this month.
Cold Weather Vegetables
While most vegetables don’t have enough time to grow before frost sets in, some veggies actually prefer the cooler months of Fall. This list includes beet, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, endive, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, leek, head and leaf lettuce, mesclun mixes, onion, pea, radish, spinach, snow peas, Swiss chard and turnip. With cooler temperatures, less daylight and more moisture, crops are sure to mature at a better rate.
Cold Weather Herbs
Fall is also a time for harvesting and preserving culinary herbs. Hardy perennial herbs such as oregano, parsley, thyme, chives and garlic as well as lavender, lemon balm and mint can be planted now for a head start. Come spring time, you’ll be able to use your herbs instead of waiting for the end of summer when spring-planted herbs would normally be ready to harvest.
Spring Blooming Bulbs
If you enjoy seeing colorful flowers in the early spring, you need to plant bulbs in the fall. After a steamy summer, autumn's cooler air temperatures are easier on both plants and gardeners, but the soil is still warm enough to allow roots to grow until the ground freezes. Plus, fall showers are generally plentiful to deeply water plant roots and pests and disease problems have typically faded away at this time. This includes classics like alliums, daffodils, tulips, crocus, hyacinth, bearded iris, and hostas, which come in a wide assortment of varieties, so you can choose colors, heights, and bloom times that work best in your garden.
Turf Grasses
Fall is the best time to establish new turf grass, either by seeding or laying down fresh sod. When creating a brand new lawn, seeding is usually the cheaper and easier DIY option, but sod will give more immediate results. Just be sure to keep the new grass well watered until freezing temperatures arrive.
October 2020
By Sam Hochman