What to Plant in October
I’m lucky enough to live near Harrison Boulevard, so as I watch the Halloween decorations go up, I spend a lot of time outside with my neighbors. This month, three of my neighbors have redone their front lawns, making them more usable for our social street and more manageable from a plant perspective. This refresh has meant we all spend a bit more time outside together, which is a welcome break from all the other stuff going on in the world.
As I was talking to my neighbor who has a Gold Feather Garden, I realized, I need to let y’all know what we’re planting for the fall. Our team has been hard at work getting all of our gardens planted and covered for the winter, so here’s a little look into what you can do in your own space.
Clear out Summer Plants
I got annoyed of my tomatoes a few weeks ago and cleared them all out. I plucked the green ones to ripen inside and cut the plants at the base to remove them.
Add soil Amendments and Compost
From there, I added a box of Azomite from Down to Earth and a bag of compost (Harvest Supreme from G&B Organics) to replenish the trace minerals and nitrogen in my soil for the winter. I watered all of that in and installed my overwintering hoops (simple, flexible PEX pipes from a hardware store).
Plant Fall Plants
Finally, I picked up a flat of plants (50% off at North End Organic Nursery) and popped them in my beds. I added lettuces, spinach, bunching onions, curly kale, chard, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. I usually avoid these plants in the spring because I don’t want aphids, but in the fall/overwintering them is a good way to get ahead of all of those bugs.
Fall Maintenance
During these warm afternoons and mild nights, I leave my beds uncovered so the plants can get natural rain when it blows through. If I need to hand water, I do so with a watering can so as not to oversoak my beds. Once we get our first real frost, I will cover my beds with a frost blanket and then tuck them in for the winter, allowing those plants to root. If I get a harvest out of them, I’m happy for the crispy salad ingredients.
Even though our winters are cold, they’re mild when compared to other climates. I do this little overwintering ritual so that in the spring, I have some productive plants before plants are even available in the nursery.
If you want one last boost of gardening before the winter, I recommend popping by your local nursery and collecting these items:
Azomite and/or Seaweed/Kelp Meal (read the back of the box of application rates)
Compost (I love G&B Organics Harvest Supreme and Soil Building Conditioner)
Garlic + Cool Season Plants (spinach, lettuce, kale, chard, broccoli, cabbage, bunching onions)
PEX Pipe (Hardware/Plumbing Store) + Row Cover/Frost Blanket (Nurseries have this)
We have extra row covered/PEX pipe, so if you’d like to book a fall coaching session, we can get your beds overwintered for you. Just click the button below to reach out.