October News from Upchurch Horticultural Society - From the Potting Shed

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Well the summer is over and Autumn rolls in and October is the big tidy up month. It can be a settled month with some warm sunny days and if summer does continue into October, I believe it is called a St. Jude’s summer, I think that’s what my Mother told me. The reality is that October is a month of rapidly shortening days and falling temperatures with a chance of a first frost and then the clocks go back. I like to get all the clearing up done this month before the muddy days arrive in November when I keep contact with the garden to a necessary minimum.

October is when the last cut is done on the lawn although all the time the temperature is above 6°C grass will keep growing and there’s nothing wrong with a quick trim any time of the year. But once the mower is put away in the garage or the shed it is unlikely to come out again until Spring. The main job to attend to is raking up leaves to allow light to the grass and avoid disease as the leaves start to rot.

Start tidying up the borders so that the early spring bulbs will appear at their best, although this year the Autumn tidy will be the first one for me as this job has proven a step too far this year. Keep deadheading, trimming and fertilising until the frosts bring the perennials to an end. Dahlias have been good this year and the wetter weather has kept everything flowering well through the summer. The water butts have coped and not run dry so quite a lot of colour albeit hidden amongst the weeds. Now is a good time to lift and divide perennials and also to take hard wood cuttings from shrubs. I collected a lot of Lupin and Delphinium seeds in the summer and re-sowed but nothing has germinated……!! Hopefully you have plenty of Autumn colour with Chrysanthemums, Sedum and Anemones, plus the roses are still going.

Anenome Japonica.

Clear up the vegetable patch and take all the summer vegetables before the first hard frost and be careful where you store the surplus. Beans and peas will finish off this month so cut them down and dig a trench for next year and start filling it with garden and kitchen compost. Clear all the weeds and dig the patch over leaving the winter vegetables to stand in the ground. Just remove any dead leaves to control fungus levels. I leave Leeks, Parsnips and Maincrop Potatoes over winter and store Marrows indoors. Unfortunately my soil is too thin and sandy for winter brassicas, but if you do have cauliflower over winter, the heads may need protecting from the frost with horticultural fleece.

Finish harvesting apples and late pears this month and store away from frosts. Tidy up the strawberries and clear around the base of the plants to allow air to circulate. I leave my Braeburns as long as possible in October before harvesting to get as much size as possible. I have meticulously thinned the mass of fruit throughout the year and have about 30 decent sized apples this year as opposed to the 300 golf ball sized apples in previous years.

It’s not all over and done with, there are still small jobs to do through the winter, but the end of October is the time to retire indoors, settle down by the fire and start planning next year with a pint of your favourite.

We are always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the 3 shows we hold each year, then please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you.

If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on: 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email: rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk

Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society

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