October signals the beginning of the end of our outdoor vegetable and fruit growing season. It’s the last chance to plant a few short cycle vegetables, to harvest frost-sensitive produce before our first frost, document the gardening year, clean up the beds, and prepare beds for winter. Let’s dig into the possibilities.
Planting
If you planted crops for fall harvest in September, you may already be picking fast-maturing plants like some lettuces and radishes. According to the VCE Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide, those of us in Hardiness Zone 7a are still able to plant baby lettuces, radishes, mustard, and spinach during the first part of the October. With an average first frost date of October 15th-25th and a warming trend that may push it later, late planters have the possibility of another crop before winter.
Fall is the best time to plant garlic, and it is reasonable to plant it into early November. Good guidance is available in the article Growing Garlic: Fall Planting from the Penn State Extension.
Follow the two-week weather forecast and plan to protect any sensitive crops ahead of predicted frosts to maximize your harvest.
Frost preparation:
To get a better understanding of frost damage and vegetables that are susceptible to light (28-32° F) and hard frost (below 28° F) exposure, refer to the article Identifying and Preventing Freeze Damage in Vegetables from the Michigan State University Extension.
To nurse plants further into the fall and winter, there are a few helpful practices:
- Wet your soil: there is some evidence that watering ahead of a frost will keep the air temperature just above the soil up to 5 degrees warmer than dry soil and will maintain the differential overnight.
- Cover your plants: For better protection, cover the crops that aren’t cold hardy. Spun polyester row cover fabric is a proven choice, although gardeners use everything from newspapers to buckets to commercially available water-jacketed individual plant covers. Fabric cover protection varies from 2° to 6° F, depending on soil conditions and fabric used. Air space between cover and plants increases the protection over that obtained by simply laying the cover directly on the vegetation. Spun fabric covers let light and water through and can be left in place across the season and around the clock. Most other options that restrict air and water flow need to be opened or removed during the day after the temperature is above freezing. For more information on row covers, please check out the Garden Shed article: Row Covers: A Season Extender with Benefits.
- Cold Frames: Cold frames provide a more permanent way to combat both spring and fall frosts. Tips on construction and on using cold frames are available in the Colorado State Extension article Extending the Season with Cold Frames.
- If you are an asparagus grower, cut back asparagus foliage to within 2 inches of the ground after frost browns the stalks.
- If you haven’t done a soil test in a few years, fall is a good time to get one. Organic amendments added in the fall will be ready for plant uptake in the spring. In the Charlottesville/Albemarle area, test kits and instructions are available at the Stagecoach Road entrance to the County Building, just off 5thSt. Extension.
- There is still time to plant a cover crop. Cover crops protect the soil over the winter, store unused nutrients to prevent them from leaching, and provide organic matter in the spring when tilled under or composted. It is late for planting a mixed crop, but Winter Rye is a possible late season solution that adds organic matter and helps break up compacted soil. The article Cover Crops from the University of Maryland Extension provides guidance.
- If you aren’t planting a cover crop, protect the garden soil with a few inches of mulched leaves, aged wood chips, or straw. Mulch reduces nutrient leaching and carbon loss while moderating temperature variation and adding organic matter to the soil.
- As leaves begin to drop, chopping them with a mower or other device creates a very useful winter mulch for growing beds or beginning a compost batch. While composting will be dormant when temperatures drop below 50°, spring decomposition can provide usable compost for late spring/early summer planting.
- If you haven’t kept up with garden documentation this year, this is your best last chance. It’s a good idea to diagram the garden along with specific crop locations. Crop rotation is an important organic tool for minimizing passing insect and disease problems from one season to the next.
- Vegetable crops in the same botanical family are often susceptible to the same diseases and insects. For crop rotation to be effective, gardeners should not plant vegetables belonging to the same family in the same location for at least three years. Crop rotation in a small garden may be difficult. However, we should rotate our vegetable crops as best we can. You can find an informative listing of plant families in the Penn State Extension article Plant Rotation in the Garden Based on Plant Families.
- Preserve any herbs that are still growing prior to the cold weather’s arrival. Good “how to” advice is available from the article Harvesting and Preserving Herbs for the Home Gardener by the NC State Extension.
Guidance for Fruit Growers
- Protect strawberry plants over winter by weeding beds and mulching before temperatures get down to 20° F. Chopped leaves and straw are good mulches. More details are offered in the Iowa State Extension article Yard and Garden: Prepare Strawberry Plants for Winter.
- If you are thinking about planting a fruit tree, fall is a good time to do it. Water newly planted trees thoroughly. Add a 3-inch or higher layer of organic mulch to retain soil moisture and moderate soil temperature. Leave a 3-4” gap around the tree base to discourage varmint damage. Research has shown that roots will continue to grow until the soil freezes, which is typically late November in Virginia. Stake and wire newly-planted trees only if added stability is necessary. Use a piece of rubber hose around the guy wires to protect the trunk. The guy wires should be tied loosely enough that the tree is able to move a little in the wind. The supports and stakes should be removed once the tree becomes established, usually in a couple of months.
- Pick up dropped fruit from under fruit trees so that deer and rodents will not be attracted to the fruit or your growing tree. Raking and disposing of diseased leaves will help keep insects and diseases under control next season.
- High grass and mulch are a haven for rodents whose gnawing can severely damage trunks. Keep the grass mowed around new trees. Be sure that mulch is pulled back 3-4 inches away from the base of the tree.
- For more information about selection and care (especially the timing and techniques for pruning) for a variety of small fruits, refer to the VCE publication Small Fruit in the Home Garden.
Okay, got everything taken care of? Relax. You’ve earned it. Hoping for a more leisurely visit with you next month at The Garden Shed.
Sources:
Featured image: October pumpkins: Photo: R Morini
Phillips, Ben and Collin Thompson, “Freeze Damage in Fall Vegetables: Identifying and Preventing,” http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/freeze_damage_in_fall_vegetables_identifying_and_preventing
October Tips: Fruit and Nuts, VA Cooperative Extension: https://albemarle.ext.vt.edu/content/dam/albemarle_ext_vt_edu/files/hort-tip-sheets/10-14-fruit-nuts.pdf
Garlic Production for the Gardener, UGA Extension, https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=C854&title=Garlic%20Production%20for%20the%20Gardener
Harvesting and Preserving Herbs for the Home Gardener, NC State Extension: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/harvesting-and-preserving-herbs-for-the-home-gardener
