October Calendar
Gardening Jobs.
Cottage garden October calendar. Thing’s to do in the cottage garden this month.
October is the first month of autumn it’s time to prepare for strong gusts of wind and frost by making sure all your tall plants are staked, climbing roses are pruned and the vegetable patch is harvested. Herbaceous plants will be the stars in the boarders this month and now is the time to plant hardy plants and spring-flowering bulbs to give them time to make strong roots over autumn and winter.
October is also a good month to get some digging in so if you have been planning a vegetable patch, this month would be a great time to get the plot prepared. Think of the year ahead now is the time to plant bulbs, trees and shrubs and deciduous and evergreen hedges.
Plan in your October calendar to visit England’s gardens to see trees change foliage colour. For my English garden recommendations read English Cottage Lifestyle E-zine issue #005 in this issue you can also read about collecting and storing seeds.
Temperatures vary all over the country and your garden will have it’s own microclimate so take that into consideration. You may need to adjust this October calendar a little for your own cottage garden but it’s a good place to start.
Make a note of these tasks in your calendar.
October Calendar: Flowering Cottage Plants.
- Plant bulbs such as tulips and lily’s in the garden or in containers and hanging baskets.
- Cut back perennials.
- Lift and divide perennials that are densely rooted.
- Plant herbaceous perennials.
- Finish planting spring bedding
- Now is the time to dry attractive seed heads for dried flower arrangements and pot pourri. Read English Cottage Lifestyle E-zine issue #004 for instructions.
- Lift and store gladioli and dahlias and any other summer-flowering bulbs to protect them for winter.
- Collect and store seeds, read the article in English Cottage Lifestyle E-zine issue #005.
- Take hardwood cuttings of shrubs.
- Prune climbing and rambler roses
- Plant wallflowers, forget-me-nots and other early bedding to enjoy flowers in your cottage garden from late winter to early may .
Herbs, Vegetables, Soft Fruit and Fruit Trees.
- Take hardwood cuttings of soft fruit.
- Harvest time: beans, beetroot, brussels sprouts, carrots, celery, leeks, pumpkins, squash, swedes and turnips.
- Transplant rooted strawberry runners to containers if you need more space in your cottage garden.
- Harvest pears and apples then store in a cool, airy place. To ripen pears quickly bring them inside.
- Lift and divide rhubarb.
- Plant fruit trees. Plant hardy vegetables for next year such as hardy peas and broad beans, cabbage and cauliflower. Cover the ground with cloches over the vegetables to keep the soil warm.
- Cut back fruited canes from cane fruits (raspberries, blackberries etc) at their base.
- Clear up old summer crops and put on the compost heap.
October Calendar: General Cottage Gardening Jobs.
- Clear up any leaves and compost them to make leaf mould.
- Tidy up ponds and if you have pump now is the time to remove it.
- Remove any diseased leaves and vegetation from your cottage garden. Do not use for compost.
- Dig and prepare soil for a new vegetable patch if you need to.
- October is the month to do any gardening jobs such as staining wood, mending walls, cleaning and oiling tools, cleaning plant pots before storing etc before winter arrives.
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