October Gardening Calendar

Garden Checklist for the Month of October

1. Planting

Make a plan, and plant Fall Bulbs: Plant spring-flowering bulbs like tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and ranunculus for a colorful spring display. Full Bulb List

Cool-Season Annuals: Start planting winter annuals like pansies, violas, snapdragons, and ornamental kale for seasonal color. Fall Flowers and Foliage

Perennials: Now is a good time to plant perennials such as hellebores and salvia. These will establish strong roots before winter.

Garlic and Shallots: Plant garlic and shallots for harvest next summer. Coming Soon!

Cover Crops: It's time to pull out your tomatoes and peppers and replant with either cover crops or winter vegetables. Cover Crops

Winter Veggies: Sow or transplant cool-season vegetables like lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower and more.
Learn More about  Winter Veggies.

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2. Pruning

Cut Back Summer Perennials: Remove spent flowers from summer-blooming perennials like coneflowers and daisies to tidy up the garden.

Prune Roses: Do a light pruning on roses to remove dead or diseased branches, but save heavy pruning for winter.  How-To-Prune

Encouraging Your Roses During Fall

3. General Garden Maintenance

Compost and Mulch: Apply a fresh layer of compost and mulch around plants to retain moisture and regulate soil temperature as the weather cools.

Clean Up Fallen Leaves: Remove leaves and debris from flower beds to prevent pests and disease from overwintering. Deciduous trees are going to start dropping leaves so get those gloves and rakes out

Prepare Containers for Winter: If you have container plants, check drainage and replace spent summer annuals with cool-season flowers. Fall Flowers and Foliage

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4. Irrigation

Adjust Irrigation Timers: If you haven’t already, October is the time to reduce watering as temperatures drop.

Deep Water Trees: Give trees and shrubs a good, deep watering before the winter rains begin, especially newly planted ones.

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5. Fertilizing

Feed Winter Vegetables: Apply a balanced, organic fertilizer to cool-season vegetables to encourage strong growth.  We recommend E.B. Stone Organics 

Final Feeding of Warm-Season Plants: Do one last feeding of warm-season plants, before they head into dormancy. We recommend, E.B. Stone Organics Ultra Bloom Plant Food.

Fertilizers

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6. Lawn Care

Overseed Lawns: If your lawn has bare spots, overseed with cool-season grasses.

Aerate and Fertilize: Aerate the lawn and apply a fall fertilizer to strengthen the grass roots before winter.

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7. Wildlife Support

Bird Feeders: Clean and refill bird feeders to help migrating and overwintering birds.

Plant for Pollinators: Add late-blooming flowers like asters and salvias to support pollinators.

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8. Prepare for Frost

Frost Protection: Prepare frost cloths or covers for tender plants in case of early frosts later in the month and into November.

Move Sensitive Plants Indoors: If you have frost-sensitive plants in containers, consider moving them to a protected area or indoors.

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By tackling these tasks in October, you’ll set your Bay Area garden up for a healthy and productive fall and winter season.