October in the Garden

Oct 2, 2014

To all the lovely people,

Welcome to fall. I hope you all had a great summer garden season. We are bringing in buckets of tomatoes and apples - juicing the apples mostly but we are also enjoying apple crisp and pie. The juice has been excellent - I usually add a carrot or two, one hot pepper, and maybe a kale leaf to each gallon and freeze it in 1/2 gallon jars. We also have a lot of different varieties of hot peppers and we will be roasting, drying, and trying fermenting with some this year. I have small fall garden in and will be planting our garlic in a few weeks. After the first rain we will plant our cover crop. 

Please write if you have any questions or comments.

Paul McCollum

 

Zone 9

  • For spring bloom, broadcast wildflower seeds over soil that has been lightly cultivated.
  • Plant fast-growing, frost-resistant veggies: radishes, mustard, spinach, ‘Tokyo Market' turnips, and corn salad.
  • Divide and transplant bearded irises, daylilies, phlox, cannas, and Shasta daisies.
  • Harvest sweet potatoes after tops wither, but before the first hard frost.
  • Harvest winter squash, pumpkins, and peanuts before frost.
  • Clean up fallen fruit in the orchard.
  • Build a hot compost pile to kill pathogens lurking in garden debris: Use a high-nitrogen material, such as grass clippings or seafood shells.

Zone 10

  • Set out transplants of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.
  • Mulch and water well—dry spells this month can last a week or longer.
  • Finish pruning fruit trees so new sprouts can harden before cold arrives.
  • Plant colorful bloomers, such as sweet alyssum, begonias, petunias, and pansies.
  • Prepare beds for planting roses; plant them late this month.
  • Fertilize plants that flower in winter.
  • Plant strawberries and brassicas (except brussels sprouts—it's too warm) early in the month.
  • In midmonth, direct-seed root crops and beans.
  • Near the end of the month, sow lettuce, spinach, and other greens.

By Paul McCollum
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