It’s here! Warm soil, steady growth and a growing list of things to do.
Spring is a changeable season. Warm days are followed by southerly winds that can blow you away. New growth seems to appear almost daily. Many rhododendrons are at their peak, including the beautiful ‘Kate’ and ‘Olive’ varieties. Roses are budding, and the birds and bees are in nectar-rich heaven. It’s a wonderful time of year.
In the veggie patch, it’s the start of the race against the clock. Will the tomatoes be ready and hardened off? Will the potatoes be ready for Christmas? And will the weeds ever stop growing?
Veggie patch
There is no success without succession. October is a great time to start slowly introducing your seedlings to the veggie patch and to begin direct sowing. Don’t plant your entire crop at once, though. By staggering your plantings, you can lengthen your harvest of summer veggies well into late autumn. Quick-growing vegetables, such as radishes, carrots and rocket, can be sown at 10-day intervals.
Summer crops are ready to take centre stage in the patch now, too. Depending on your microclimate, plant out tomatoes, capsicums, chillies, beans, eggplant and cucumbers, with frost protection still useful in colder areas.
Everything in the garden is hungry at the moment. Winter and spring plantings, such as broccoli and garlic, could do with a big boost of fertiliser right now as they begin forming heads and bulbs.
October is also the month when pests and diseases start to ramp up. Check your garlic crop for early signs of rust and consider putting preventative measures in place now. Pests such as pear and cherry slug and codling moth will be making their presence known over the next few weeks, so monitor your trees and act accordingly. Check the veggie patch regularly for aphids, caterpillars, snails and slugs, as well as the dreaded cabbage moth.
Follow our handy guide to dealing with pests and diseases in the garden, but remember, balance is everything.
General maintenance
Spring winds can do a lot of damage to spring-flowering gems like delphiniums and ranunculi. Support your precious blossoms with stakes or flower supports to keep them upright and steady. And while it may seem like there’s plenty of moisture about, winds can dry out the soil quickly. Be sure to water the garden well before and after a particularly windy day. A top-up of mulch now can also help retain moisture despite the spring winds and before the summer heat kicks in.
Deadhead spent flowers and give things a light prune if they need it. Regular deadheading will not only keep things looking tidy, but also encourage more flowers.
If you have any empty spots in the garden that need filling, do it now so plants can establish themselves before summer. Fill gaps with summer-flowering perennials and shrubs, like Hydrangea ‘Runaway Bride’ and Dahlia ’Dalina’. Think ahead about where you’ll want colour once the spring display starts to fade.
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What to plant now |
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Sow direct |
Beetroot, climbing beans, coriander, daikon, dill, dwarf beans, endive, kohlrabi, lettuce, parsnip, peas, radish, rocket, sage, salsify, silverbeet, snow peas, spinach, spring onion, perennial spinach, turnip |
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Sow in trays |
Asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, capsicum, celery, chilli, chives, climbing beans, coriander, dill, dwarf beans, leek, mint, oregano, parsley, peas, perilla leaf, rhubarb, sunflower, sweet corn, tomatillo, tomato, watermelon, zucchini |
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Sow in trays on heat mat |
Basil, cucumber, eggplant, luffa, perilla leaf, pumpkin, rock melon, squash, zucchini |
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Plant |
Asparagus corm, cabbage, capsicum, chilli, chives, climbing beans, coriander, cucumber, dill, dwarf beans, leek, lettuce, mint, mustard greens, onions, oregano, parsley, peas, perennial spinach, rhubarb corms, silverbeet, spinach, strawberry, sweet corn, tomato, zucchini |
