What to Do in Your Garden

October 2024

Two hurricanes within two weeks at the beginning of the month is more than anyone should have to deal with in their lives. For most it means that instead of doing routine schedule of yard maintenance, there will be clean-up and recovery. Additional items to check are in each garden section.

Average temperatures High 85 Low 65

Average Rainfall 2.73 inches - This month will see over 10 - 15 inches in parts of Florida.

October plantings

Vegetables: Beet, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, collards, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, onion, peas, potato, radicchio, radish, rhubarb, roquette, rutabaga, spinach, strawberry, Swiss chard and turnip

Flowers: African daisy, alyssum, angelonia, ageratum, begonia, black-eyed Susan, blue daze, calendula, candytuft, celosia, chrysanthemums, cleome, coleus, cornflower, cosmos, dianthus, dusty miller, gaillardia, gazania, geraniums, gerbera, heliotrope, hollyhock, impatiens, larkspur, lobelia, nicotiana, pentas, petunia, salvia, snapdragon, sunflower, sweet pea, verbena and zinnia.

Herbs: Anise, basil, bay laurel, borage, cardamom, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, fennel, garlic, lavender, lemon balm, lovage, mint, nasturtium, oregano, rosemary, sage, sweet marjoram, tarragon, thyme and water cress.

Bulbs: African lily, agapanthus, amaryllis, anemone, bulbine, calla, crinum, day lily, gingers, gladiolus, pineapple lily, rain lily, society garlic, spider lilies, walking iris, watsonia. Refrigerate crocus, daffodils, hyacinth, narcissus, and tulips for forcing.

Grasses: Lomandra Breeze, Miscanthus ‘Adagio’, Muhly Grass, Dwarf Fakahatchee, White Fountain Grass, Lemon Grass.

Lawn care

Get help with any debris or branches near power/communication lines.
Watch for lifting roots that may interact with underground utilities or irrigation.
Check for leaning trees and hanging limbs, contact a professional arborist to assess.
Trees with trunks less than 4 inches in caliper can be easily stood and staked
Irrigation is key to success, treat these trees as if just planted and water accordingly
Wait until water levels percolate before fertilizing. It will be okay to wait until November for most fall chores.
Apply fungicide if your lawn gets fungus easily.
Get a soil test from your Extension office before fertilizing your lawn.
Do not use weed and feed products on your lawn at the same time.
Identify weeds and use a separate herbicide and separate fertilizer according to label.
October through spring is a good time to install sod.
Fill bare spots in lawns left from summer pests with sod or plugs.
Seeding time for bahiagrass is over; delay rye seedings until temperature highs are in the low to mid-70’s.
Chinch bugs and sod webworms can linger into Fall; control as needed
With the excessive rain, check to see if your turf needs watered at all.
Water turf only when it shows signs of moisture stress.
Use soil aeration in older, compacted, and poorly-drained soils to encourage better root growth.
Continue mowing to maintain proper turf height; keep mowing height the same year-round.
Sharpen & balance mower blades to give a smooth cut to leaf blades.
Change the oil and air filters of gas-powered equipment for Fall.
Use mulch or ornamental ground covers in areas where turf won’t grow.

Vegetable and fruit tree care

Apply fungicides preventively.
Check to make sure all vegetable plants are back in soil and not uprooted from winds.
Check trellises for broken attachments, straightening.
Harvest pumpkins this month. Look for dying leaves and vines, deep color, and hardened stem and rind.
Use large transplants of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants to get a Fall crop.
Stake or trellis tall or vining crops to keep the edible portions off the ground.
Feed gardens every 3 to 4 weeks with a traditional fertilizer or use a slow-release product.
Tomatoes begin setting and holding their fruits early to mid-month.
Add flowers to vegetable gardens to attract pollinators.
Prevent spray damage to pollinators; apply sprays when they are not active.
Caterpillars are feeding on cucumbers, melons and tomatoes, control with a natural spray.
Begin plantings of cool season vegetables around mid-month.
Gardeners cramped for space can grow vegetables in containers.
Start seeds for transplants of broccoli, cauliflower, and similar vegetables in containers.
Add 3” to 4” mulch to the surface of the soil to conserve moisture and keep vegetables dirt free.
If you have mulch on landscape beds, apply only enough mulch to bring the depth to 3” – 4”.
Groom summer weary herb plantings and start new ones that prefer the cooler weather.
Most vegetables & herbs need moist soil; water when the surface begins to dry to the touch.
Fruit splitting on citrus trees is normal and may continue into the Fall.
Help prevent citrus fruit drop and splitting, water once or twice a week during dry weather.
Give citrus the final feeding of the year during early October.
Till new garden sites and enrich sandy soils with garden soil, organic matter and manure.
Remove offshoots from pineapple plants to start new beds.
Start papaya seedlings for late winter transplants.
Add strawberry plants to a garden or build a pyramid for planting.
Delay pruning all fruit plantings until mid to late winter.
Speed up the composting process by turning the piles monthly.
Harvest maturing chayote, cocoyam, dasheen, and gourds.
Dig in the soil to check sweet potato plantings; most have roots ready to harvest.

Landscape chores

Straighten, upright, and stake if necessary any leaning small trees and shrubs.
If a large tree’s roots are more than halfway out of the ground, get a certified arborist assessment before keeping.
There is a difference between cutting off damaged and dangerous limbs correctly and pruning. Have a certified arborist cut back any damaged tree limbs.
Avoid pruning right after the storm. The plants need a chance to put on new growth and recover. When you see new growth, you can prune away any branches that remain dead or undesirable.
Check irrigation heads and lighting wires for damage.
Recycle small dead shrubs and branches in your Halloween landscape.
Major pruning time is over for azaleas, bougainvillea, camellias, gardenias, and poinsettias.
Pick up and dispose as much of the Spanish moss left in yard by hurricane winds
Shield poinsettias and holiday cactuses from nighttime light starting mid-month.
Most ornamental and shade trees do not need a special feeding
Palm diseases are prevalent; clean and sterilize pruners between palms.
Be smart and only remove the brown fronds and flower stems from palms.
Give hedges a final trimming.
Remove suckers and low limbs from trees.
Weeds are plentiful in ornamental plantings; hand pull or spot kill to prevent seeding.
Whiteflies and mealy bugs are major pest; systemic insecticides offer good control.
Drier weather lies ahead; water when the surface soil begins to dry.
Most established trees and shrubs can go a week or more between waterings.
Walk through yard to check for irrigation obstruction. Trim away limbs and weeds affecting the operation of sprinkler systems.
Check container plantings for plugged drainage holes; repotting may be needed.
Maintain mulch under trees and shrubs; make sure you can see the flare at the base of the plant and tree.
Determine tree needs and plant smaller growing wind resistant species.
Check tree and palm supports to make sure they are secure but not damaging the plants.
Add Fall plants to hanging baskets and container gardens.
Edge sidewalks and plant beds.
Replace soil in problem flower beds and planters.
Replant flower beds with cool season annuals and perennials; delay pansies until November.
Start Pansy and other winter annual seeds now for planting in November and December.
Divide perennial and bulb plantings.
Give water lilies and bog plants a monthly feeding.

House & foliage plant care

Order gift amaryllis to be delivered in December for Xmas.

Plants reduce pollutants and create a pleasing atmosphere when added to homes and offices.
Foliage plants are often a good buy at garden centers during Fall; replace declining plants.
Many foliage plants have grown too large for their containers; repot as needed.
Groom outdoor foliage plants and begin moving them to a warm location.
Most foliage plants need a bright light location but out of the direct sun.
Feed plants in bright light monthly; less often in low light.
Control insects on plants before moving them indoors.
Water holiday cactuses only when the surface soil dries
Begin forcing amaryllis and paper white narcissus for indoor displays and discontinue feedings.
Make sure indoor poinsettias, holiday cactuses and kalanchoes receive no nighttime light.