October Gardening

What to do, this Month

October is a month of warming temperatures and rapid growth. It's best to start out with caution, as the early weeks are still unpredictable; we can still get freezing temperatures and turbulent conditions. As the month goes by, the weather generally becomes more settled and starts to hint at the summer days ahead.

• As weather improves the soil warms up, dries out and becomes closer to the ideal crumbly texture...perfect for planting into. Spend some quality time working on your soil to enrich it with organic material, to support your plants over the season.
• Lock in soil moisture before the heat of the summer season, by applying a good thick mulch across the whole garden.
• Harden off plants before planting out in the garden. A soak in Yates Thrive Natural Seaweed Tonic before planting out  reduces transplant shock and promotes healthy root growth.
• Spring rains will ease, and the garden might need watering. Check over or install drip or mini-sprinkler irrigation, so it's ready to turn on when you need it. Be prepared to water the garden regularly as the temperatures rise.
• Slugs and snails will be out in force, so safeguard your seedlings. Stop them in their slimy tracks with slug bait, or beer traps.

Vegie Tasks

• Now the soil's warm, most summer season crops can be started from seed directly into the garden, or in a sunny spot indoors. Do remain watchful for late frosts; they can cause serious harm to plants out in the open.
• Sow seeds for beans, peas, carrots, radish, sweetcorn, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, capsicum, silverbeet, spinach, parsnip, cucumber, zucchinis, pumpkins and melons.
• Before planting anything, it's a good idea to spend time preparing the soil to remove all weeds, plus add generous amounts of compost along with natural fertilisers like Yates Dynamic Lifter or Yates Thrive Natural Blood and Bone.
• If growing from seed isn’t for you, your local garden centre will have a wide range of seedlings ready to be planted straight away.
• Get ready for climbing crops by adding trellis and support structures, before planting the plants.
• Potatoes can be planted now. Pre-sprouting can get them going sooner, but isn’t necessary for a successful harvest.
• Once the crops get going, feed all your vegetable plants weekly with a liquid fertiliser to encourage healthy growth.

Fruit Trees and Berries

• Mid-spring's a great time to feed all fruiting crops.
• Passionfruit gradually lose their vigour, so they'll probably need replacing after five years or so. Now is an ideal time to put in a new plant.
• For the price of a couple of punnets of blueberries, you could plant your own bushes! Not just tasty; also a rich source of antioxidants.
• Feed flowering and fruiting strawberry plants with strawberry food every two weeks, for delicious, extra-juicy fruit.
• To be able to pick clean, grub-free apples next autumn, spray with Yates Success Ultra to protect pip fruit trees from becoming infested.
• Protect budding citrus from verrucosis and brown rot with Yates Copper Oxychloride. Refresh the mulch around the base of your trees and feed with a good citrus food.

Flowers Everywhere

• If you haven’t already, have a ponder about the plan for your summer garden, before buying plants or sowing seeds. If you stay strong and avoid impulse purchases, your garden will look just the way you want it.
• Prioritise plants that will attract bees, pollinators and beneficial insects into your garden.
• Warmer temperatures and reduced risk of frost means sowing and planting flowers can be done with gusto. Keep an eye out for late frosts and protect new plants, especially in cooler areas.
• Extend spring flowering for cineraria, pansies, poppies and primulas by feeding with liquid fertiliser and removing spent blooms.
• Annual flowers that can be started undercover in seed trays, or sowed directly into the ground include ageratum, alyssum, Californian poppy, statice, gazania, marigolds, cosmos, petunia, nasturtium and sunflowers.
• Summer flowering bulbs like begonia, calla lilies, dahlia and gladioli can be planted now.
• Add support structures and stakes before the plants need them, to allow the plants to grow securely and avoid damage when you add support after they've grown floppy.
• Deadhead and feed spring flowering bulbs as they finish flowering, to build up their energy reserves for next season’s blooms.
• Constricted clumps of cymbidium orchids can be divided now and repotted into fresh orchid-specific potting mix.
• Once primroses, polyanthus and violas finish flowering, the plants can be divided and replanted; for even more blooms next season.
• Prevent fungal diseases and pest damage in roses with proactive protective sprays. Take care to spray in the early morning or late evening to prevent harm to beneficial insects.
• Refresh acid loving plants such as camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons after a season of blooming with Yates Thrive Camellia, Gardenia & Blueberry Food.
• Sunflowers bring joy to a garden: you can now sow them directly into the garden soil.

Love Your Lawn

• As the temperatures rise, grass will begin to flourish and grow much faster.
• Feed with a nitrogen-rich lawn fertiliser to support the vigorous new growth.
• Increase the frequency of lawn mowing to keep it looking great; 'cut little and often' is the key to a gorgeous lawn.
• Control weeds before they outpace the grass and take over. Always spray on a still day, stay away from waterways and be considerate of your neighbours.
• Now is a great time to apply Yates Prickle Weed Killer, for a prickle free summer. You'll need to move fast now, the window of opportunity before Onehunga weed forms prickles is closing fast!
• Take advantage of spring showers and increasing temperatures to sow a new lawn, or repair bald patches.
• Lawns that are persistently soggy will respond well to any drainage you can add; it's a good time to tackle this before the ground dries out and makes digging harder.

Trees and Shrubs

• As the risk of frost diminishes, prune away any frost damage and keep a sharp eye out for late frosts, so you can get frost protection in place.
• Trim hedges now before the active new growth comes to an end and feed with general purpose fertiliser.
• Check to find out how flowering shrubs prefer to be pruned before using the big choppy chopper on them, once they finish blooming.
• Get new plants for free, by taking cuttings from recently pruned plants.