OCTOBER

​Vegetables

• Plant onion sets, garlic, cabbage, collards, swiss chard and kale.  

• Watch for and treat green worms on broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and collards.

• Wrap green tomatoes individually in newspaper and store them in a cool dry place before the first frost for fresh tomatoes into December.

• Pumpkins and winter squash store better if they are harvested with a few inches of stem remaining intact.   

• A great resource is the planting calendar for Central North Carolina covering vegetables, fruits and herbs.   

Perennials, Annuals & Bulbs

• ​​Perennials: 

  • Continue to dig and divide spring and early summer blooming perennials before the foliage dies back.  Daylily, hostas and shasta daisies are some examples.  

  • Place identification markers beside herbaceous perennials before they die back for the winter, so they won’t be disturbed when planting in the spring.  

  • Clean, crushed eggshell may be sprinkled around hostas, Lamb’s ear and other plants that slugs adore.   

• Annuals:

  • Plant pansies, snapdragons and ornamental vegetables for fall color.   ​

• Bulbs:

  • Plant spring-blooming bulbs from late October through December.  

  • Keep your bulbs in the refrigerator until you’re ready to plant them.

• Elephant ears and Caladium bulbs: 

  • ​Dig up and store.

  • Keep in dry peat moss in a cool place to replant next spring.  

• Paper whites and Amaryllis bulbs:

  • Plant late this month and early November.   

  • Allow six weeks from the time you plant for the flowers to open. 

Trees, Shrubs & Groundcovers

• Plant new trees and shrubs.  

• Start that fall leaf pile. 

• Watch for and treat lacebugs on azalea and pyracantha.  

• Fertilize your roses, if you didn't do this in September.  

Lawn & Landscaping

Plant cool season grasses like tall fescue.

• Rake newly seeded lawns weekly to prevent leaves from smothering the new grass.  

• Aerate lawns​. Coring lawns, subject to heavy traffic and/or clay soil, will help to minimize compaction and improve rooting. 

• Build a leaf pile and improve your garden soil. ​

More Fall Tasks

• If your water garden is small, cover it with a tight mesh netting to keep leaves out of the pond.  

• Start a compost pile:  

  • Make use of all those falling leaves and have compost ready to work into the garden next spring.   Remember: don't add weeds or diseased foliage, and stems go in the compost pile.  

• Houseplants that spent the summer outdoors should be cleaned up and brought indoors when night temperatures fall below 50 degrees. 

  • Check for insects and spray well with water to wash off insects and their eggs.

• Fill your birdfeeders and birdbaths for migrating friends flying south.  

• Leave seed-bearing perennials – i.e., ornamental grasses, coneflower, sunflowers, black-eyed Susan – to feed the birds and to provide cover for beneficial insects over the winter.   

• Gather materials for winter arrangements; hang them upside down to air-dry in a warm dark room -- try salvia, Silver King artemisia, purple coneflower, goldenrod, hydrangea, lamb's ears, zinnia and ornamental grasses.