What to Do in the Garden in October
October is my favorite month.
You could accuse me of bias, as October is my birthday month, but this is truly a sublime time to garden in central Texas. Finally, the sun relents. It is a beautiful, forgiving time. If you still haven’t gotten around to starting your fall seeds or totally prepped your garden beds, relax. The only seeds that needed to be planted so far are those that require a long season before harvest: your Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli. If you didn’t start those seeds, despair not, it’s not at all too late to add those brassicas to your fall garden. Just pick up a few brassica transplants from your favorite nursery. Almost every other cool season crop you can continue to sow those seeds throughout our mild winter, most of them through February or March. So no need to stress. In fact, if you are reading this right now, take a moment and take a nice deep breath or two. Maybe read the rest of this outside and let the sun shine on your face while enjoying the drop in humidity. I have relied on my garden a lot lately for those moments when the day’s stress gets to be too much. The beneficial effects on the nervous system are immediate, bringing your blood pressure down and increasing dopamine levels. For an even greater benefit, to reduce your cortisol levels, give yourself a full thirty-minute immersion. Just in case that information is helpful at the moment. ♥︎
This easy time is also conducive to correcting any mistakes you may have made in terms of placing the perennials you’ve planted over the season. This is the best time to move them to new locations where they may do better next year. Likewise, right now is a good time to divide plants like canna lilies that may have taken over some areas if you didn’t do all of that in September. Give them away if you are running out of room.
In Austin, we do have the occasional drop in temperature in late October or early November. If you were traumatized by the 2021 Texas freeze, you know that minimal frost protection didn’t cut it and if you wait until a freeze is in the forecast all of the frost blankets will be sold out all over town. Plan ahead for that scenario. Thankfully, most fall crops can tolerate some frost. Some even taste better on the other side as with many brassicas, their flavor will actually improve with exposure to cold. f your seedlings are very small though, protect them because they will be a little vulnerable until they are well established.
If you planted nasturtiums, they will survive the lightest of frosts but they won’t be happy about it. They will die if exposed to temps below 30º. Protect them with frost blankets or I’ve found that an overturned felt grow bag will do the trick. I like to buy something like this long row cover and then just cut to the sizes I need for different planting areas. You can also use old blankets and sheets for frost protection.
October Tasks:
Harvest all your basil before the frost and make a big batch of pesto you can freeze in an ice cube tray.
You can also plant garlic and shallots in October, though I usually wait until next month and you can plant them as late as December. If you come across garlic bulbs in the nursery, snap them up. You won’t harvest them until late Spring, so make sure you give them a devoted space with deep soil in full sun. Soft-neck varieties do best in our mild climate.
Mulch your tender perennials. Those tropical plants that die back in the cold will survive until spring as long as their roots don’t die. Make sure that Pride of Barbados, banana plants, firecracker ferns, & esperanza have two inches of mulch to keep them warm all through the winter.
Collect seeds & cuttings! Saving seeds from zinnias, basil, and anything else that is flowering can keep you from ever having to buy those varieties again. Take cuttings from African blue basil and sweet potato vine to start new plants you’ll put out in the spring. Sweet potato vine will die back but almost always at least some of it will return in the spring without taking cuttings. This is just backup.
Make more plants! As I mentioned, this is the time to divide iris, cannas, daylilies, liriope, and amaryllis if you didn’t do it in September. Move them to new areas of the garden or give them to friends or neighbors.
Cut back Tropical Milkweed. If you planted tropical milkweed because native milkweed like Antelope Ears are so hard to find, that’s okay, just remember to cut it back sometime in October so migrating monarchs aren’t temped to overwinter.
What to Plant in October:
Known as a favorite by chefs, borage is a must grow for anyone that loves to cook. The little blue (and sometimes pink!) star-shaped flowers have a light, cucumber flavor and look beautiful sprinkled on salads or in cocktails. It does get huge though. Plan for that, placing it in a back corner or out of the way.
It’s SALAD SEASON!! I absolutely adore this time for growing the most luscious salad ingredients in life. I much prefer growing greens to brassicas, as squirrels always seem to steal my prize before the harvest of those long season crops. Greens you can succession sow by seed every two weeks to have endless winter salads. Add beets, turnips, carrots, and radishes into your succession sowing and you’ll be golden. I literally set an alarm on my phone for two weeks every time I plant to remind me when it’s time to plant more. Add some edible flowers like marigolds, borage, and pansies to be extra fancy.
Grow from seed: Kale, Swiss Chard, spinach, mustard greens, Asian greens, alyssum, beets, radishes, carrots, kohlrabi, turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, nasturtiums, pansies, snapdragons, onions, chives, leeks (early October), cilantro, dill, fennel, parsley, borage, marigolds, sorrel, calendula, chamomile, fava beans & peas (sugar, snap, and garden early October)
Transplant: Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, kohlrabi, collards, cauliflower, artichoke, snapdragons, garlic, shallots & mums
Transplant or seeds: Lettuce, spinach, Asian greens, collards, kale, Swiss chard, kohlrabi. Root vegetables, peas, beans, and borage do not transplant well. Do not buy them if you see them sold as plants.
Trees! Fall is the best time to plant trees in central Texas. Bigger trees aren’t always better. My arborist friend tells me he never buys larger than a 15-gallon tree for himself, as smaller trees transition better with less transplant shock. He also told me not to add compost to the planting hole, just additives like perlite or sand that will help with drainage. The theory is that a tree, if given immediate access to a bunch of rich compost, won’t send roots out in search of nutrition. Those spreading roots are what builds stability.
Spring Flowers! Starting in the last week of October, you can scatter wildflower, nigella, and poppy seeds for spring blooms. Note that for bluebonnets, you’ll want to nick the shells with sandpaper or fingernail clippers to help them germinate. Otherwise, you may be waiting up to four years until they sprout.
Perennials! You can plant almost anything you want right now in central Texas. Shrubs, grasses, perennial plants & herbs. Go nuts!
