October Gardening Tips

Garden Maintenance

Clean out flower and vegetable gardens to discourage diseases and pests from overwintering in your beds.
Rake leaves from ditches to make way for the rain that's coming.
Re-program drip system timers for cooler weather and rain.
Update your garden journal, noting what worked and what didn't work. Look around at the fall color you might want to plant for next year
Mulch or mow leaves on your lawn and add to your compost pile - either an existing one or a new one.
Apply a thick layer of compost to enrich your soil for spring planting.
Apply mulch to bulbs and tubers left in the ground.
Deadhead spent flowers.
Lift tuberous begonias.
Lift and divide dahlias, dust with sulfur before storing.
Divide lilies.
Cut back and divide spent perennial phlox asters.
Cover compost bins with plastic tarps once the rains begin.
Clean out bird houses and bird feeders.
Cut old berry canes and tie the new canes to support wires. It's easy to identify the old canes now - they're turning brown.
Finish pruning any fruit trees after the last fruit is removed.

Fertilize

Spray: Check the California Backyard Orchard website for current information.

First dormant spray of stone fruits when leaves fall.
Citrus with copper for brown rot. Pay special attention to lower branches and ground under tree.
Cane berries with copper before winter rains.

Trees, shrubs, perennials

October and November are the best months to plant.
Acorns for new oak trees. Acorns do best with 30 days cold treatment.
Install drought tolerant shrubs and perennials such as barberry, ceanothus, dogwood, iris, fremontia, manzanita, Oregon grape, penstemon, redbud, rockrose, smoke tree, toyon.
Plant spring bulbs! You have about 2 months to get them in the ground.

Flowers

Direct seed cornflower, nasturtium, nigella, poppy, lupine, columbine, portulaca, sweet pea, garden pea, and stock.
Above 200': direct seed crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, scilla, tulips
Continue to set out cool-weather bedding plants such as calendula, pansy, snapdragon, primrose and viola.

Vegetables

Lawns

Cover Crops