October To-Do List

Top Ten

1. Compost – Add to your pile or create one. Clean out all the dead stuff from your garden and flower beds. Leaves are already falling — add them, too.

2. Plant trees, shrubs, rose bushes and perennials. Planting now will ensure better survival next spring/summer and earlier growth and blooms.

3. Plant fall and winter color – pansies, dianthus, snapdragons, alyssum, ornamental kale and cabbage, dusty miller, etc. Plant in beds you cleaned out (from #1), or in pots on deck or porch.

4. Replace dead grass with St. Augustine sod. Weeds will sprout in dead patches if you don’t. New sod will be well-established by spring.

5. Winterize the lawn that you still have left. An organic, slow release fertilizer is just what the grass needs to get ready for cold weather.

6. Plant fall veggies and herbs – Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts , lettuce, cabbage, peas, dill, cilantro, parsley, Swiss chard, mustard greens, etc.

7. Plant bulbs by the Holidays. Between Halloween and Thanksgiving: Crocus, anemones, freesia, ranunculus, alliums, lycoris, etc. Plant paperwhites in pots by November 11th (Armistice Day) for blooming in time for Christmas. Refrigerate tulips until New Year’s Day, then plant every two weeks through Valentine’s Day for longer bloom time.

8. Plant wildflower seeds through November – bluebonnets, paintbrush, larkspur, etc. Also plant sweet pea seeds in November for better results in spring.

9. Move and divide perennials and roses while they are dormant or growing slowly. They will be ready to burst into bloom in spring.

10. Mulch, mulch, mulch — the mulch you applied last spring is long gon! Protect roots and maintain moisture while keeping weeds to a minimum with a 3-inch layer of the mulch of your choice — pine straw, bark mulch, compost, leaves.