This October, focus on planting, maintaining, and enjoying your garden as you prepare for the warmer months ahead! All the summer vegetables can go in at Labour Weekend – the day and soil temperatures are warmer, making it ideal for planting. Weed and mulch – the two activities go hand in hand and set the garden up for a successful summer season – makes the garden pop too :-)
Top Tip: The change of seasons has brought some windy weather so stake up those fruit trees and bushes – to anchor their roots and keep the plants happy.
Key Garden & Landscaping Products for October:
Aquaticus Garden Booster, Pea Straw, Mulch, Premium Garden Mix, ProLawn All Purpose Fertiliser, Premium Lawn Mix, Prolawn Lawn Booster, Premium Compost, All Natural Vege Mix, Aqua Turf Max, Prolawn Lawn Booster
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General Garden Care
- Weeding and Mulching: Regularly weed and mulch to set your garden up for a successful summer. This helps retain moisture and keeps the garden looking vibrant.
- Watering: Water young seedlings and germinating seeds (including grass seed) daily. Water and mulch new shrubs and trees. Consider layering pea straw around vegetable plants to retain moisture.
- Wind Protection: Stake fruit trees and bushes to help their roots grow and protect them from cold spring winds. Construct windbreaks or leave finished vegetables in windy areas to shield young plants.
The Fruit and Vegetable Garden
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What to Plant
- Summer Vegetables: All summer vegetables can be planted now. Remember to stake tomatoes as they can grow quite tall.
- Herbs: Plant summer herbs such as dill, French tarragon, coriander, and basil. Start basil indoors for a few weeks to as it doesn’t like cool temperatures
- Edible Flowers: Include nasturtiums, carnations, daylilies, rose petals, and violas for salads and garnishes.
- Pumpkins: Plant pumpkin seeds in a spacious area with plenty of compost.
- Beans: Sow scarlet runner beans, French beans, or exotic varieties against a sunny wall or climbing frame.
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Fertilising and Soil Prep
- Liquid Fertiliser: Apply liquid fertiliser around all edible plants. For organic gardening, we do offer All Natural Vege Mix in bulk, plants should still have organic fertiliser added.
- Soil Quality: Ensure soil is well-drained and nutrient-rich. Use Aquaticus Organic Booster to nourish seedlings.
- Mulching: Apply Somerset Pea Straw in vegetable beds to help retain moisture, especially in raised gardens that tend to dry out quickly
Pest Management
- Codling Moth Prevention: Use sticky traps in apple and pear trees or spray with Yates Success Ultra (four times only) over the spring season.
The Ornamental Garden
What to Plant
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Flowers: Sow cosmos, hollyhocks, and zinnia seeds. Plant dahlia tubers and perennial daisies for a colourful summer display. In go the dahlia tubers now - apply slug bait when the green shoots start to appear.
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Ornamental Trees: Double value cherry trees like Prunus ‘Shimidsu Sakura’ and Prunus ‘Awanui’ offer both spring blossoms and autumn colour.
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Colour (as determined by international fashion shows held recently): get the blues, reds, pinks, oranges and yellows into the garden - colour is alive and well this summer!
Maintenance Tips
- Staking: Stake tall perennials like poppies and delphiniums to support straight stems and to stop them falling over other plants
- Weed Control: Actively remove or spray weeds early to allow desirable plants to flourish.
- Watering: Ensure consistent watering for newly planted trees, shrubs, and perennials in dry conditions.
- Helping water retention: For new plants, sprinkling Aqua Turf Max in the planting hole will help the soil retain moisture during summer.
Pruning and Care
Rhododendrons and Hydrangeas: These begin to bloom now. Generally blue or white flowering hydrangeas will ‘live’ happily beside rhododendrons each other if the soil is slightly acidic.
Rose Care: Treat black spot immediately to ensure healthy blooms and regularly deadhead to encourage more blooms.
Lawn Care
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- Fertilising: October is the best time to fertilise lawns. Use Prolawn Lawn Booster applying it evenly with a spreader.
- Watering: Water lawns after fertilising to avoid burning.
- Dry lawn in summer? Apply Aqua Turf Max over the lawn and water in.
Landscaping Tips
- Refresh Pots and Urns: Re-plant pots with Potting or Premium Garden Mix for better drainage and nutrition. Use mulch to finish the look.
- Sow New Lawns: If reseeding, our Central Landscapes team can assist with seed and fertiliser selection for a lush lawn. Consider Aqua Turf Max G for drought resilience.
- Pebbles make fabulous mulches! Use them to add interest to planted bed or pop a few plants into a pebbled area to change up the garden look this summer.
