What to do in October in the vegetable garden?

October is a transition month: harvest the last summer crops and prepare the soil for another season. There are still opportunities to sow and plant, depending on the variety, your region and the weather.

Prepare the soil

Autumn is a useful time to plan new beds. Collect suitable leaves and cover bare soil with mature compost or other appropriate organic material. Avoid working waterlogged ground, which is easily compacted.

A green manure needs enough time to establish. Choose one suited to the sowing date and crop rotation. Do not feed every bed equally: take the next crop's needs into account.

Plan with Permapotes

Permapotes lets you download or print a personalised calendar for your vegetables and climate. Use it as a guide and adjust work to local conditions.

Sowing and planting in October

Lamb's lettuce and suitable winter spinach can still be sown in mild conditions. Lettuce can be raised under cover or planted out as young plants. Late radishes and turnips need appropriate varieties, light and sufficient growing time. A tunnel provides protection but cannot replace missing daylight.

In mild areas, suitable overwintering peas may also be an option. Choose a variety intended for this and consider frost and wet soil. Garlic and some shallot varieties can be planted from sets or cloves; follow their respective spacing and planting depths.

Strawberries can be planted while conditions remain favourable. Plant fruit trees during dormancy when the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. Allow room for the roots and water after planting.

Harvesting in October

Carrots, cabbages, turnips, radishes, lettuce, spinach, pumpkins, beetroot, celeriac and leeks may be ready. Harvest frost-sensitive crops before cold damages them. Check the last apples and pears for ripeness and store only sound fruit. Share, process or freeze surplus produce using a method suited to the crop.