October Gardening Tips For Zones 10 - 11 . . . .

OCTOBER GARDENING TIPS FOR ZONES 10 – 11

Mulch and water well—dry spells this month can last a week or longer.

On your next trip to the beach, collect dead seaweed that has washed up onto the shore. Bring it home and rinse off sand and debris. Allow the seaweed to lay onto the top of your garden soil to dry. Work it into your soil prior to planting. If you have an abundance of it readily available, continue collecting it while at the beach, and incorporate it into your mulching routine. It will be a positive soil conditioner plus help rid the garden of some insects and other pests.

Depending on site location, try to integrate both native and non-native species into your garden’s design. Research what natives may be invasive and stay clear of them. If they exist in your landscape remove and dispose of properly.

Construct raised beds and clean your favorite containers for the month’s vegetable plantings. 

Vegetables:

Take advantage of our nearly perfect conditions for sowing lettuce. Do it twice a month from October through March.  Sow in flats in a cool location to plant out as soon as the temperature begins to cool down. Begin new crops every week or two.  Use a floating row cover for when temperatures drop briefly.

Lettuce is a great crop for your favorite planter or pot.

Set out your transplants of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

Plant strawberries and brassicas (except for Brussels sprouts—it's still too warm) early in the month.

In midmonth, direct-seed beans and plant seed potatoes.

Consider planting, in one bed, a ‘potato salad garden,’ using potatoes, celery and onions. If you have young gardeners, in your household, they may enjoy the idea of this grouping.

You can also do a ‘pizza garden,’ with tomatoes, green onions, oregano and parsley.  (The oregano may not perform well in our zones, but it’s worth trying.)

To grow great potatoes it is best to start with planting the eyes of organic seed potatoes, but others may perform well for you, too. Fingerling potatoes and small red potatoes will grow quickly. Each eye planted may yield 6 potatoes.

Near the end of the month, sow beans, collards, kale, radishes, spinach, and your other favorite greens.

If you are re-using plant stakes, or trellises for your beans, clean them with a water and bleach solution (ratio: 9 parts water : 1 part bleach).

Watch for slugs, and set out bait if you need to. Placing yeast mixed with water, in a shallow pie pan at ground level, is a great bait. Slugs will attack your leafy greens, so it’s a good plan to get rid of them sooner than later.

Consider constructing raised beds for your vegetables if you have not already done so. Often easier on the back of the gardener, a raised bed also helps to protect crops from invasive weeds and grasses competing for nutrients and space. In a raised bed, we have more control over soil composition and pH.

Flowers:

Plant colorful bloomers this month. Use lantana, petunias, and pansies.

Prepare beds for planting roses, and plant them later this month. Pull the wheelbarrow up to the compost bin and work dry compost into the bed prior to planting. (If the compost sticks to your shovel, it is likely too wet.) Allow at least 2 weeks before planting into the composted soil. Always water after planting. 

Fertilize plants that flower in the winter.

The Gaillardia wins the best color vote for a native. Do not prune it below the green wood. It is good at re-seeding itself and is often considered an annual groundcover.

Watch for fungus attacking your ‘Blue Daze.’ If this is a problem, transplant some into hanging pots and allow them to cascade. They will recover quickly from dry conditions with a watering.

Cut out the dead and brown stems of the fast spreading Gingers in your garden. Do the same with your Agapanthus.

We can somewhat trick repeat blooming of the Pineapple Lily (Eucomis) by alternating periods of wetness and dryness.

We can continue planting our Asiatic, Tiger, Trumpet and Oriental lillies. They will love an organic rich soil, so take a few loads from your compost bin and work it into the soil a few days before planting. 

Give your hibiscus a light feeding of a home brewed compost tea.

Though a beautiful flowering plant, purple loostrife is an extremely invasive native plant. It encroaches on wildlife habitats and needs to be removed. Identify, remove it and discard it responsibly. This plant is often sold in nurseries for residential plantings. Be aware of its consequences.

Information on invasive plant species is available from your County Extension Services. 

Trees and Shrubs:

Finish pruning fruit trees so new sprouts can harden before cold arrives.

Keep your pruning tools clean and sharp. If you are removing diseased wood, clean tools in a bleach and water solution after each cut.

The consideration of trees and shrubs can be more beneficial than architectural for wildlife.

Fall-fruiting trees are used by both migratory birds preparing for winter. Conifers provide cover, winter shelter, sap, buds and food for birds, too.

Concerns of the over-used Sabal Palm, have been eased as it’s replenishing itself within only a few years. It is a popular landscape choice considered by some as a Florida native. Seedlings without clear trunks are difficult to transplant. This palm is easily relocated once established.

In late October through the month of November, you can prune back the native Beauty Berry bush (Callicarpa Americana). The longer you wait to prune this species, the happier the birds will be.

Another favorite for the birds is the native evergreen, Firebush (Hamelia patens). With tubular red flowers changing from red to black berries, this showy tall shrub is an excellent choice. Due to the berries, plant away from your house and areas with foot traffic.

 

Lawns:

The fall is not an active time for warm-season grasses. Their growth slows and some varieties turn brown.

A healthy lawn helps to filter carbon dioxide, reduce storm water run-off, cut down on glare from the sun plus a myriad of other benefits.

Although we’ve had some tropical storms, not long ago, you may need to provide supplemental watering for your turf.

For an instant lawn, use sod and irrigate according to the variety of turf planted.

It is beneficial to mow at the correct height for the particular grass planted. (Bahia: 3-4 inches. Bermuda: 2 inches. Centipede: 2-3 inches. St. Augustine: 3 inches. Zoysia: 1-2 inches.)

Though St. Augustine turf grass can tolerate light shade, most lawns grasses prefer full sun, provided they are well drained.  Fertilize St. Augustine once in the fall and once in the spring.

Zoysia is a very drought tolerant turf, but will turn brown without adequate water. Though a slower growing turf, it doesn’t need mowing as often during cooler months. It also needs less fertilization. 

Soils rich in organic material and clay will tend to retain water longer than a sandy soil. Both are capable of growing a great lawn.

Most grasses like a slightly acidic to neutral soil. Lime will raise the soil pH here and sulfur will lower it. (Bahia grass benefits from an acidic soil.)

Be aware that you may need to amend any soil in areas of high acidity.

It is always of benefit to have your soil tested periodically, and amended with organic matter as needed.