Peyton Ellas
Autumn is a season of transition, and we can really feel that in beautiful October. The weather is mostly pleasant for working out of doors. On average October is windier than many other months, but mostly in the form of breezes that don’t prevent our work, and we may see a rain storm before the month ends. Many of us love October and all of us can try to take a few minutes here and there to just enjoy the season, the full moon, the butterflies appearing, the happiness of the birds and the late-blooming flowers. And pumpkins!
PLANTING: October is a good month to plant most ornamental trees, shrubs, perennials, vines and ground covers in the California garden. Have your irrigation system ready before you plant so you won’t miss watering them if the days remain dry. Those new transplants will need regular water for at least the first few weeks. When transplanting, leave an inch or two of the crown, the center of the plant, above the soil level. The planting hole should be a little wider than the nursery container. Top off with two or three inches of mulch after planting. You do not need to add fertilizer or amendment to the planting hole, but if you insist on fertilizing, use a timed-release granular product. Towards the end of the month, begin to plant spring-blooming bulbs such as daffodils and tulips, or you can wait until November. For bulbs, plant three times as deep as the size of the bulb, and don’t overwater them. Plant native local wildflower seeds as the rains begin. Besides poppies, try clarkia, tidy tips, gilia, phacelia and lupine. There are seed sources online for California native wildflower mixes. If you live in the mountains or foothills, consider using only locally collected seed of wildflowers you see in the wild, in order to preserve watershed genetic purity.
In the vegetable garden, plant from seed: chard, spinach, turnips, beets, snow peas, carrots, cilantro, lettuce, and Asian greens. Continue planting seedlings of greens, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and bulb onions.
MAINTAINING: Complete your annual yard clean up, especially if you have planting beds or entire yards based on naturalistic styles. Don’t be afraid to cut those spring-blooming shrubs back to a third their size. Don’t trim deciduous trees yet; we’ll wait until winter for that. The exception may be the popular Desert Museum Palo Verde, which does not appreciate frost at all and may do best trimmed in summer or early fall. Don’t prune citrus, avocado or other frost-sensitive plants until spring unless you can protect new growth from frost. Deadhead roses one final time for a fall bloom. Divide perennials and replant. You can replant iris or wait another month. If you can, grind up the plant trimmings and use them as mulch for the garden, or add ground up plant debris to the compost bin. Don’t use any plant material that had disease or pest issues; dispose of them in green waste bins in urban areas and the trash can elsewhere. But any healthy twigs, leaves and old flowers make an excellent mulch in the garden. Use it wherever you can instead of having it hauled to the landfill. Sprinkle the mulch to settle it in.
In the early warm days of fall we may see aphids on our brassica (cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, kale), and as weather cools, sowbugs and slugs/snails become more of a problem. In some gardens, sparrows and other birds may be a problem for small seedlings. Use fine netting like tulle with PVC pipe or metal structures to keep the garden safe from overhead insects. Use the IPM Pest notes to learn the life cycles of insect pests so you can solve next year’s problems early without toxic chemicals. Many insects spend part of their lives in layers of leaf litter or other wood piles and removing those from the edible garden may be all it takes to solve the problem.
If we have a few dry weeks, deep water your trees as they enter dormancy. Don’t forget to adjust automatic systems (or ask your gardener to do it) to reflect cooler temperatures. In the mountains and foothills, wrap your pipes and remove and store faucet timers before the first frost.
You can apply pre-emergent herbicide this month to help prevent annual bluegrass, mustard, mallow (cheeseweed), clover and purslane. Don’t apply it where you plan to grow wildflowers or bulbs. Just like with grass species and edibles, we have two main seasons of weeds: warm and cool. If you already have some of these cool season weeds, you will want to remove them mechanically (pulling, hoeing) or use both a post-emergent herbicide and a pre-emergent.
This is a good month to check your tree stakes in anticipation of winter winds. IF the tree can stand up on its own and the root ball seems secure, remove the stakes completely, and let it bend in a breeze; this will help the trunk gain strength. Stakes should never be right up against the trunk. Those stakes are for transporting from the nursery, not long-term. If you need to stake a tree, we have information on our website on how to do it properly.
Go easy on the nitrogen-heavy fertilizer as we go into fall, to avoid frost burn of new foliage. This is the season, however, to fertilize your cool-season lawn (fescue), and lightly feed winter-blooming annuals, perennials, and container plants. Don’t fertilize succulents or cactus.
CONSERVING: I have learned that I must schedule ahead for simple gardening chores like weeding and trimming or they don’t get done until the project is an all-day task. It’s easier on us and the garden if we do our garden work consistently and a little at a time.
Although we may need to manage many pest insects in the cool of fall, especially in our edible gardens, identify an unknown insect before you kill it or use insecticides. You may be surprised to find you have a ally in a beneficial insect. Consider planting a hedgerow in or near your garden or orchard to encourage and increase predator insects and pollinators. Ornamental, non-annuals can usually tolerate some damage and give you the time to solve the challenge. For many disease issues, cultural practices, such as increasing air circulation, weed control and encouraging beneficial insects, should be considered part of the solution.
Happy October!
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Thanks for keeping me on task in the yard and garden, Peyton!