10 Tips for the October Gardener

Sakata Seed America

  1. Prepare houseplants to come inside before the first frost. Scout for insects and rinse foliage and containers.
  2. Pot up tulips, hyacinths and other pre-chilled bulbs and store in a cool, dark place until ready to force. To begin pre-bloom dormancy for amaryllis, stop watering it and place in a cool, dark place.
  3. Pot up some chives and oregano to bring indoors and use all winter long. In areas not hit by frost, there is still time to harvest and dry oregano leaves.
  4. Plant bulbs: shallots and garlic for culinary use, flowering bulbs for beauty.
  5. Beets, parsnips, and carrots can be covered with a thick layer of straw or leaves and left in the ground for harvest, as needed, during the winter. Pumpkins and winter squash should have hard rinds before being picked and stored.
  6. Renovate the lawn by thatching or aerating if needed. Keep any areas seeded in September well watered.
  7. Replace spent annuals with frost tolerant hardy mums, asters, pansies or kale.
  8. Remove plant debris from the flower and vegetable gardens. Bag any diseased plant parts and put it in the trash or take it to a landfill but do not compost.
  9. Avoid the spring rush and have your soil tested now by the UConn Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory
  10. Continue mowing the lawn until turf growth stops.

For more information, please visit the UConn Home and Garden Education Center, or call 877-486-6271.

Photo: Jude Boucher, UConn Extension