KJFM NEWS —Garden Talk is produced monthly at the Adair County University of Missouri Extension Center in Kirksville, Mo.
OCTOBER GARDENING TIPS
Ornamentals
- Continue watering, especially evergreens if soils are dry.
- Nuts or seeds of woody plants usually require exposure to 3 months cold before sprouting. This may be provided by outdoor planting in fall or “stratifying” in an unsealed bag of damp peat moss placed in the refrigerator.
- Container grown and B & B trees and shrubs can be planted. Loosen the soil in an area 2 times the diameter of the root ball before planting. Mulch well after watering.
- Plant spring bulbs among hostas, ferns, daylilies or ground covers. As these plants grow in the spring they will hide the dying bulb foliage.
- For best bloom later this winter, Christmas cactus, potted azaleas and kalanchoe may be left outdoors until night temperatures drop to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spring bulbs for forcing can be potted up now and stored in a cool, frost-free place until it is time to bring indoors, usually 12 to 15 weeks.
- Cannas and dahlias can be dug when frost nips their foliage. Allow the plants to dry under cover in an airy, frost-free place before storage.
- Transplant deciduous trees once they have dropped their leaves.
- Plant tulips now.
- Trees may be fertilized now. This is best done following soil test guidelines.
Lawn
- Seeding should be finished by October 15.
- Broadleaf herbicides can be applied now to control cool-season weeds such as chickweed and dandelion.
- Continue mowing lawns until growth stops.
- Keep leaves raked off lawns to prevent smothering grass.
- Now is a good time to apply lime if soil tests indicate the need.
- Winterize lawn mowers before storage.
Vegetables
- Sow cover crops such as winter rye after crops are harvested.
- Harvest winter squash and pumpkins before frost. For best storage quality, leave an inch or two of stem on each fruit.
- Dig sweet potatoes before a bad freeze.
- Gourds should be harvested when their shells become hard or when their color changes from green to brown.
- A few degrees of frost protection may be gained by covering tender plants with sheets or light-weight fabric row covers.
- Continue harvesting tender crops before frost.
- The average first frost usually arrives about October 15-20.
Fruits
- Store apples in a cool basement in old plastic sacks that have been perforated for good air circulation.
- Persimmons start to ripen, especially after frost.
- Monitor fruit plantings for mouse activity and take steps for their control if present.
- Place wire guards around trunks of young fruit trees for protection against mice and rabbits.
- Fall color season begins.
- Begin peak fall color in maples, hickories and oaks.
- End of peak fall color.
