What should you do in the vegetable garden in October?
It’s been a while since I last told you about my vegetable garden. My work has taken up a bit more of my time recently, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been tending to the garden! So here’s a quick round-up of everything I’ve been doing in the vegetable patch over the last few weeks… and everything that’s still left to do!
Preparing your vegetable patch for next year
Yes, it’s already time to start thinking about 2020! Almost all the summer crops have now been cleared from the garden (tomatoes, squash and courgettes) because, with the damp weather, diseases were starting to set in: a few plants infected with downy mildew, powdery mildew on the squash and courgette plants, and even rot starting to appear on some stems. So I’ve given my ‘summer plot’ a thorough clear-out – it’ll soon be completely yellow.
I’ve actually sown mustard, which is an excellent, fast-growing green manure for loosening and nourishing the soil. Over the next few weeks, I’ll carry on preparing the soil in the other plots once they’ve been cleared: adding compost and manure, sowing vetch and rye (which are cold-hardy), mulching certain plots with grass clippings and leaves, etc. I’d also strongly recommend you have a look at this video by Olivier to find out what needs doing!
Sowing in pots
At this time of year, there aren’t many more seedlings to sow in pots apart from lamb’s lettuce or lettuce. These are the only seedlings I’ve sown so far at the start of October. When the weather permits, I’ll plant a few garlic cloves amongst the strawberry plants, as well as some onions in one of my vegetable beds. You can find the October calendar here.
Outdoor sowing
Planting
Harvests
