Garden To-Do / October
October is the month the garden stops recovering and starts growing. The soil has warmed, the days are long, and whatever you plant now has a few comfortable weeks to settle before the real heat and the summer wind arrive. It is also the month to tidy up the shrubs that carried the garden through winter and spring, and to get your watering and mulch sorted before you need them.
Daytime highs sit at around 20°C, much the same as September, but the nights are noticeably milder at about 14 to 15°C. That is the change the garden responds to: warm soil overnight means roots keep working, and new growth comes through fast. The sun has more bite too, so young seedlings and anything freshly planted will dry out quicker than they did a month ago.
October is a changeover month for wind. The odd late front can still come through from the west, but the easterly winds of summer are becoming more regular, and they can blow hard in the afternoons. New plantings feel it most. Stake young trees properly, firm in anything the wind has rocked loose, and give seedlings some shelter for their first week or two.
Rain falls all year round here, and October usually brings somewhere around 50 to 55 mm, spread over a week or more of wet days. It is helpful, but it is not enough to carry new plants on its own, especially in sandy soil with a drying wind. Check the soil with your finger before you assume the last shower did the job.
Many of the shrubs that flowered through winter and spring are now finishing, and this is the right time to shape them. Trim lightly, taking off the spent flowering tips and a little of the soft growth behind them, so the plant stays dense and has the whole summer to grow the wood that carries next season's flowers. Avoid cutting hard into old, bare wood, as many fynbos shrubs are slow to shoot from it. Confetti bush, which is finishing its long flowering season about now, is a good example. Pincushions are still in full flower, so leave those until they are done.
Spring bedding planted in September should be in full swing. Keep it deadheaded and fed, and it will carry on for months. Gaps can still be filled now with heat-loving colour such as petunias, marigolds, salvias and zinnias. Refresh the top layer of soil in pots and hanging baskets, and remember that containers dry out much faster than beds once the wind picks up.
The soil is warm enough for the summer crops. Tomatoes, peppers, chillies and brinjals can go into their final positions, and beans, baby marrows, cucumbers and sweetcorn can be sown directly where they are to grow. Basil is at its happiest from now on. Keep sowing lettuce and other leafy greens in small batches every few weeks, in a spot with some afternoon shade, so you are not left with a glut followed by nothing. Stake tomatoes at planting time, it is much harder to do later without damaging the roots.
Buffalo and kikuyu are growing strongly now. Mow regularly but not too short, a slightly longer blade shades the roots and keeps the lawn greener through dry, windy spells. If you did not feed in September, do it now and water it in well. Thin or bare patches will still fill in quickly if you attend to them this month.
If you do one job this month, make it mulch. A good layer over every bed keeps the soil cool, holds moisture and takes the edge off the drying wind. Keep it a few centimetres away from stems and trunks. Water deeply and less often rather than a little every day, so roots follow the moisture down, and water early in the morning. Run your irrigation system through once and look for leaks, blocked emitters and sprayers that the winter growth has covered.
Soft new growth brings aphids, and damp evenings bring out snails and slugs. Check the tips of roses, hibiscus and vegetable seedlings every few days. A firm jet of water knocks back most aphid problems if you catch them early, and snails are easiest to collect by hand after dark. If you need more than that, ask us about the eco-friendly options we keep in the nursery.
Indigenous plant of the month
October is pincushion month. The big, rounded flower heads, packed with stiff styles that stand out like pins in a pincushion, are at their best right now in shades of orange, red, yellow and pink. They are long-lasting, both on the plant and in a vase, and the nectar brings sunbirds and sugarbirds into the garden. Pincushions belong to the protea family, and most of the 48 species come from the Western Cape, but the most widespread of them grows wild along the southern and eastern coastal belt well into the Eastern Cape, on sandstone and stabilised coastal sand.
They are not difficult, but they are particular. Give them full sun, open air around them and sharply drained, acidic, sandy soil, and then leave them alone: no compost, no bone meal and no ordinary fertiliser, as phosphorus harms them. Where the soil is alkaline, as it often is close to the sea, grow them in a large container of acidic fynbos mix or in a raised bed. Water regularly while they establish; after that they cope well with dry spells, and good drainage matters more than extra water. Pick the flowers freely with a length of stem, as that is all the pruning most plants need, but never cut back into old, bare wood.
For more detail, see our Pincushion care guide.
See you at the nursery,
Clint
The Farmyard Nursery
Need a hand getting started? WhatsApp us or visit the nursery, and we will point you to the right plants for the season.
