October Gardening Tips

For all Garden Types:

• Now is a good time to get a soil test for your lawn, landscape beds, and vegetable gardens. This allows enough time to get results and apply what is needed to prepare for next spring growing season.

Lawn

• Do not apply any more nitrogen fertilizers to lawns. As soil temperatures cool, warm-season lawns will being going dormant for the winter. Added nitrogen fertilizer after August can encourage growth at the wrong time of year and increase winter injury.

• Think you are done fertilizing the lawn for the year? An application of potassium or potash fertilizer in later summer into early fall will help improve winter hardiness. Apply 0-0-60 (1.5 lbs) or 0-0-22 (4.5 lbs) 4 to 6 weeks before first expected frost.

Trees, Shrubs and Flowers

• October is a great time to plant trees and shrubs in the landscape. Remember to not plant trees and shrubs too deep! Provide some water to newly planted plants up until the first frost.

• Now is the time to be planting pansies in the landscape for that show of color in the winter months. Plant pansies in well-drained soils. After planting, add mulch and water thoroughly.

Fruit, Vegetables and Herbs

• Now that your vegetable garden is harvested for the year, don't forget to remove left over plants. Plants left in the ground over the winter may increase insect and disease problems next year.

Jessica Strickland is an Agriculture Extension Agent, specializing in horticulture for North Carolina Cooperative Extension in Wayne County. Forward any questions you would like answered from this month’s column to Jessica.Strickland@waynegov.com