Gardening jobs in October

Well it definitely feels like autumn is here now. The leaves are falling, helped by those strong winds, and the endless rain already. Here are some essential gardening jobs for October and a few pressie ideas for Christmas like our Tool racks for sheds and our seed storage box .

Bulbs planting & Seed Sowing

Hopefully those spring bulbs should have arrived or will soon be on their way to you that you ordered last month.

This is the time to get planting. Bulbs like daffodils, crocuses and beautiful fritillaries.

I have daffs to dot around, I like to do nice clumped areas so you get a nice display but also like to dot them around the lawn. (Obviously taking care where to plant them – it’s either best to leave a wild area or I like to put them around the edges of a certain area of my lawn.) I have planted my Alliums already but think I have some room for more. They definitely are one of my favourites, so can always squeeze more in.

Remember to put them on your garden planner so you know where you planted what and hopefully where you will be getting your blooms at what time of year.

If you don’t have a planner don’t worry you can download one here.

Get the Chester & Cooke Garden Planner

If you haven’t got your bulbs yet, I thoroughly recommend the Anglia Bulb company, this is a super website, helping you to find bulbs per the month of bloom. Plus you can select free bulbs as a thank you. WIN WIN.

There are still seeds you can be sowing in October such as Aquilegia (one of my favourites) Coleus with its gorgeous dark burgundy leaves, and sweet peas.

Need a seed storage box …

to store all those seeds in look no further.

My seed storage box now has an option of an alternative to leather for the catch and handle especially for my vegan customers. You can SHOP Seed Boxes and seed box sets HERE.

It was designed by me – Liz Cooke a keen gardener, for gardeners. So it is a good practical size, with seed viability at the heart of its design – made from wood helps keep seeds cool in high temperatures. This seed box has great potential for organisation. with 4 compartments, 3 of which are engraved, to help you organise. You could also make use of my divider cards which fit perfectly in the box to help you organise further.

This box has the option to personalise the engraved lid, to make it extra special for your loved one. You can even personalised the internal sections or front if you wish.

Seed storage box and divider cards gift set a great pressie along with my tool rack for sheds — You can purchase this seed box on its own or as a gift set. from £70

My seed storage box is available in brown or grey.

Seed storage box divider cards also have a garden planner. — Divider cards and a Garden planner come part of our Seed Box Gift set, or can be purchased separately HERE

Gardener's Seed divider cards fit perfectly in the Chester & cooke seed storage box — Seed Organiser cards – 3 sets in a pack – £7 fits perfectly into a Chester & Cooke Seed Box

Shop seed storage boxes HERE.

As the weather has turned there are certainly a lot of gardening jobs for October.

Greenhouse – Gardening jobs in October

If you haven’t done it already, wash down your greenhouse, remove any shading you may have had up and have a good tidy. Getting it ready to store any plants over the autumn and winter months. Remember to remove any leaves from the guttering, you can do this for your house too. Saves those blocked drains with all the extra rain.

Get prepared with your insulation. The usual way is to use bubble wrap there is a specialist wrap for horticulture and is made to withstand the UV rays. It could last 3 years if you look after it, but eventually will need be to thrown away so not they best for the environment. There is now a biodegradable bubble wrap on the market, which won’t last you as long but wont have the environmental impact as the standard type.

Here is a good article about insulating your greenhouse and a link to biodegradable bubble wrap.

Shed

It’s time to clear out your shed and check for any maintenance that is required. Make sure its still waterproof with all the wind and rain. Check the roof well and replace or repair any felt needed.

Remember to give your tools a good clean and oil. Check the lock on your shed and make sure its nice and secure.

It’s now that you will want to pack away the items such as your garden furniture, plant supports and canes and watering systems. (these can be expensive so you want to look after them and prevent them from freezing and splitting.) Find a nice storage tub so you can put it away safely and tidy in your shed or garage. Any pots that aren’t frost resistant, give a good clean and store away too.

Tool Racks for Sheds

If you don’t already have one, give your tools a new home with a tool rack for sheds from Chester & Cooke. These are available in small, medium or large with the middle hanger can hold 2,3,or 4 tools. You can also store 3 tools on each arm along with your hand tools. So this is a great space saving tool rack. It can also be personalised so is great for a Christmas pressie if you are already thinking on the C word. You can shop Tool Racks HERE

engraved tool rack for sheds are great for storage — Our Tool rack for sheds are available in Brown or Grey, and can be personalised.

Leaves

As usual in autumn the leaves are everywhere, as gardeners we can make use of these to produce a nice leaf mould which you can use in the future to mulch around your plants and scrubs. Set up a bin or protected pile where you can store them, to use when they are ready. Try to keep on top of clearing up the leaves, especially from ponds.

Lawn

You can give your lawn a nice feed and weed before the colder weather really kicks in this will help revive it after the strain of the summer months. It may have got compacted over the summer with all the dry weather so now if a good time to aerate it. You can use spike shoes or a fork or depending on the size of the lawn you might want to hire a machine. This is a nice little guide on how to aerate your lawn.

Pots

It’s time to clear out any pots that had summer annuals. Remember to compost and then give the pots a good scrub before storage.

Get prepared and buy any garden fleece you need to protect your planted pots or plants around the garden from the colder weather and frosts. When the temperature starts to drop, get them wrapped up snug. This can save you from losing some of those mature beloved plants.

Gardening jobs for October – Green manure

If you have have a veggie patch or large areas of bare soil this is a good time to sow a green manure crop. If you are new to this it is super easy and basically help replenish the nutrients in the soil and boast its health. There are lots of different types you seeds you can sow from Forage Rye to the beautiful green manure lupins.

But each seed will help a different soil type.

This is a really good step by step guide to help you through the process.

Wow there are a lot of gardening jobs for October. They feel very much like the transition jobs, but still good fun. I hope you have found them useful. Remember to write that wish list for your friends and family if you fancy a Seed storage Box, a Tool rack for sheds or you may be thinking of pressies for friends other gardening lovers. You can check out my other gardening products HERE. But don’t forget I design and make products for the Home, Garden, Horse and Dogs. So there really is something for every one. Shop my full range HERE.

Happy gardening! Liz