Expert John Stoa finds plenty to do in the October garden

John Stoa finds plenty to do in the October garden.

FRUIT

Late October is a good time to take cuttings of blackcurrants, gooseberries and red and white currants to increase stock. Plants are just going dormant at leaf fall, so new cuttings will soon settle in. Use fresh shoots about nine inches long and line them out in the soil three inches apart, burying half the shoot. Leave them till spring. Then, as growth commences, lift and pot up, as they should be well rooted.

VEGETABLES

Down on the vegetable patch, most of the crops have been harvested, apart from winter vegetables, and the ground cleared. There is still enough warmth left in the soil for a late sowing of a green manure such as clover or tares.

The latter can be left to grow over winter and be dug into the soil in early spring. This prevents loss of nutrients, and the fibrous root system breaks up the soil for the benefit of the next crop. Green manure plants also absorb atmospheric nitrogen on their root nodules then release it back to the soil when they rot down.

PERENNIALS

Many of our summer flowers are not hardy and need to be lifted and dried off for storing over winter in an airy frost-free shed or garage. Dahlias, begonias, fuchsias, gladioli, canna indica and Brugmansia (Angel’s Trumpets) will all need winter protection, although with recent mild winters some can survive. I have had canna and gladioli reappear in spring after some got left behind in the ground, but best not to risk it.

FLOWERS

As the summer season draws to a close, now is the time to look ahead to next spring. Flower beds, tubs and hanging baskets can be cleared of spent flowers, then either dig or hand fork over the surface and add in some well-rotted compost or potting compost for tubs and baskets.

Plant these up with pansies, polyanthus, myosotis, wallflower or other spring bedding plants. Add in some bulbs to increase the display. Crocus are fine with pansies and dwarf double early tulips (Abba, Monte Orange or Peach Blossom) with most bedding plants. Wallflower will need a taller Darwin Hybrid type tulip like Apeldoorn.

GREENHOUSE

Grape Black Hamburg should now be ripe for picking. They often ripen a few bunches at a time so just cut as required and make them last for several weeks. I’ve often had my first bunches in September and my last ones in December. Remember to keep the greenhouse well ventilated to prevent any botrytis developing.

Once the tomatoes have finished cropping and the old plants are cleared away, fork over the soil in borders or loosen up the surface of growbags and sow a winter salad catch crop to give fresh salads throughout the winter months. Use winter hardy lettuce, spring onions, radish and also rocket.