October is the month to begin cleaning up your garden for next spring. If you had some problems
with diseases and insects during the summer, it might be a good idea to compost or bury the
debris you collect. The reason to destroy the refuse is that some insects and diseases can
live through the winter on these materials. If you didn't have pest problems, work the dead
plants into compost where they will decompose and supply much needed organic matter for next
year.
Those pesky leaves that may be now falling on your yard can help next year's garden, too.
Instead of tossing them or burning them, work them into your compost pile. Pine straw
collected from your lawn is an excellent mulch material.
There are many ways of composting leaves and other yard residues. They from making a simple
heap of refuse to building a layered pile of organic matter, soil and a little nitrogen
fertilizer. The method you choose will determine how fast the pile decomposes and becomes
good compost.
However, regardless of the method, the important thing is to save these valuable materials
that nature has provided to enrich and improve your garden soil.
October also is the month for bulb planting. Many people add color and beauty
to their gardens early in the spring by planting hardy spring-flowering bulbs at this time.
The various kinds of narcissus and daffodils are general favorites. But you can plant
several other hardy bulbs as well. These include: anemones, ranunculus, snowflakes,
flowering onions and snowdrops.
Tulip and Dutch hyacinth bulbs should be placed in the refrigerator this
month and left for six weeks so they'll be ready for planting in late November or December.
Do not freeze these bulbs.
If you want to try your hand at vegetable gardening, you have many options
available. In the first part of the month you can plant collard, leaf lettuce, Chinese
cabbage, carrot, beet and onion seeds. All through the month you can plant cabbage, mustard,
turnips, spinach, kale, parsley, celery, Swiss chard, shallots, garlic, radishes and endive.
Ornamentals
Fall Bedding Plants:Nurseries and garden centers offer a wide selection of
cool-season transplants and seeds. Transplants are well-established, blooming plants that
provide color in your garden right away. Some cool-season bedding plants, such as alyssum,
Johnny-jump-up, bluebonnets, calendula, annual phlox and nasturtium, are easy to grow from
seed and may be planted directly into beds. A few, including sweet peas, larkspur and the
poppies (Shirley, Iceland, California and peony-flowered), resent transplanting and are
typically direct seeded where they will grow. Whether you use transplants or direct seed,
planting should be done from mid to late October through early December.
Before you plant either seeds or transplants, decide where you want to grow
them and prepare the soil. Prepare beds well, because this makes a tremendous difference in
the performance of the plants. Cool-season bedding plants will bloom best in well-drained
locations that receive six hours or more of sun. Generally, the more sun they receive, the
more they will bloom and grow. Pansy, viola, forget-me-not, nicotiana, primula, cyclamen and
alyssum are probably the best choices for shadier areas, but even they will not perform
well in heavy shade and do best where they get at least a few hours of morning sun (primose
and cyclamen will bloom with the least amount of sun).
Select cool-season bedding plants with harmonious colors. Colors should be
grouped together in masses. Try not to use too many different colors in the same bed.
A few colors in masses are generally more effective than a sprinkling of many colors,
especially if the bed is to be viewed from a distance.
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