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  • GARDEN CALENDAR
    • January winter
    • February to do list
    • March timely tips
    • April 15th last frost
    • May spring frenzy
    • June garden tasks
    • July summer tasks
    • August hot summer
    • September gardens
    • October fall begins
    • November planting
    • December gardens
  • Our Publications
  • Videos
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  • OTHER
    • Gardening Articles >
      • VEGETABLES >
        • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds, Cool Season
        • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds for Summer Crops
        • Peas Edible Landscape
        • How To Dig A Vegetable Garden - Soil Science And Preparation
        • Warm Season Vegetables & Fruits: Edible Landscaping
        • Growing & Feeding Container Vegetables
        • Organic Vs. Chemical Gardening Practices
        • The Quest for the Perfect Tomato
        • Tomato Primer the basics
        • Fall Greens for the Edible Landscape
        • Grow Lettuce
        • The Tomato Wars heirlooms vs. hybrids
        • Okra is more than a vegetable
        • Hill of Beans
        • Seasonal Edible Planting Layouts for Raised Bed Gardens
      • HERBS >
        • Rosemary Darling Of The Kitchen
        • Herbs Uses, History And Cultivation >
          • Bay Laurel Essential Oils: Keeping The Immune System Healthy
          • Basil Essential Oil for Memory & Concentration
          • Comfrey The Best-Known Healing Herb
          • Basil The 2003 herb of the year - Cultivation, History, Medicinal Use
          • Comfrey - A Controversial Herb
          • Eucalyptus in the Landscape and Cough Drops
          • German Chamomile: Herbal Tea And Treatments
          • Eucalyptus Essential Oils: Treatments For Skin Conditions And Respiratory Systems
          • Geranium, Pelargonium Odoratissimum Essential Oils: A Fresh Rose-Like Scent
          • German Chamomile Essential Oils: Anti-Inflammatory Properties
          • Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis L.: A Long And Colorful Folk History Native Plant
          • Perilla, P. Frutescens: An Interesting And Valuable Addition To The Garden
          • Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis: In The Herbalist's Medicine Cabinet
          • Thyme - With Culinary, Medical And Aromatherapy Uses
          • Yarrow Essential Oils, A Pretty Healer
      • FOOD Health Organics >
        • Eat Local
        • LOCAL food in Mecklenburg
        • Carolina Produce
        • Grow Healthy Kids with Gardening
        • Grow Top 6 Veggies
        • Okra Southern Food
        • Sweet Potatoes
        • Let Us Eat Lettuce
        • Green Leafy Friends
        • Canning Basics 101
        • Snappy Green Beans
        • Tasty Peas
        • Gardener Skin Care
        • Summer Heat Safety
        • Produce Your Produce Grow Guide
      • BULBS, Rhizomes >
        • Coo-Coo for Crocus
        • Bulbs for Spring Planting, Summer Bloom
        • Tall Bearded Irises Dig Divide
        • Bulbs For Fall Planting Spring Bloom In Mecklenburg County And Region
        • Cool Crinum Beat the Heat
        • Silly Scilla! in September
        • Daylily 'Genesta' Tall Blond
      • NATIVE Plants >
        • Natives With Winter Interest
        • Native Plants for All Seasons
        • Ameliorating Habitat Loss
        • Native Plants With Spring Interest
        • Tough Plants for Tough Times
      • Invasive Exotics
      • FAVORITE Plants >
        • Japanese Maple Ferns Black Mondo - A Winning Combination
        • Spring Woodland Gift
        • Winning Perennial Plant Combo
        • How to Stop A Car!
      • FRUIT >
        • D - Easy Fruit Growing
      • PERENNIAL Flowers >
        • Gardening Basics
        • Seeds for Winter Sowing
        • Right Plant Right Place
        • Black Lenten Rose
        • Trillium
        • Amur Adonis
        • Hosta 'Empress Wu'
        • Wa-Hoo For Waipahu!
        • Chrysanthemum
        • Ranunculus
        • Ragged Robin
        • Toadflax Canon J. Went
        • Spurge Euphorbia
      • SHRUBS, pruning >
        • Pruning Boxwoods
        • Paperbush Edgeworthia
        • Camellia Primer
        • Spider Azalea
        • Garden Borders
      • LAWNS Groundcover
      • GARDEN DESIGN >
        • Rain Gardening
        • Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Garden
      • CONIFERS >
        • White Cedar Cypress
        • Growing Conifers in the South
        • Select Pines for Carolinas
        • Eastern Red Cedar
        • Yews and Plum Yews
        • Hemlocks Tsuga
        • Japanese Cedars
        • Spruces Picea
      • TREES, care, resources >
        • Flowering Apricot
        • Witch Hazel Hybrids
        • Redbud Primer
        • Dogwood Primer
        • Growing Bamboo
        • Crape Myrtle 'Violet Filli'
        • Earth-Friendly Lawn
        • Managing Lawns Environmentally
        • Acer palmatum 'Bihou'
      • SOIL compost >
        • SOIL in the Piedmont
        • SOIL pH guide
        • SOIL Mecklenburg basics
        • Topsoil the dirt about
        • Prep SOIL for transplants
        • Build SOIL fertility
        • Garden Recycling: Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes . . .
        • MICROCLIMATES
        • Heat Wave Garden Tips
        • Why Should We Care about Biodiversity
        • Why Biodiversity Is Slipping Away
        • Plant Hardiness Zones From The USDA (2012 update)
        • Biological Islands for Cleaner Water Purification through Floating Treatment Wetlands
      • BUGS & Insects >
        • YELLOW JACKETS look out!
        • SLUGS a beer fest
        • HORNWORM control
      • WILDLIFE, Varmints >
        • DEER stinky control that works
        • RABBITS defend your garden
        • SQUIRRELS what really works
        • VOLES what will & won't work
        • MOLES what works
        • PESKY 'POSSUMS
        • PESKY RACCOONS
        • SNAKES gracious Alive!
  • HOME
    • About Master Gardener Volunteers
    • 2024 Master Gardener training
    • Demonstration GARDEN
  • Request Our Help
    • Horticulture Help Desk
    • School/Community Garden Consultation
    • Speaker
  • Garden Zone
  • GARDEN CALENDAR
    • January winter
    • February to do list
    • March timely tips
    • April 15th last frost
    • May spring frenzy
    • June garden tasks
    • July summer tasks
    • August hot summer
    • September gardens
    • October fall begins
    • November planting
    • December gardens
  • Our Publications
  • Videos
  • Consider a Donation
  • OTHER
    • Gardening Articles >
      • VEGETABLES >
        • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds, Cool Season
        • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds for Summer Crops
        • Peas Edible Landscape
        • How To Dig A Vegetable Garden - Soil Science And Preparation
        • Warm Season Vegetables & Fruits: Edible Landscaping
        • Growing & Feeding Container Vegetables
        • Organic Vs. Chemical Gardening Practices
        • The Quest for the Perfect Tomato
        • Tomato Primer the basics
        • Fall Greens for the Edible Landscape
        • Grow Lettuce
        • The Tomato Wars heirlooms vs. hybrids
        • Okra is more than a vegetable
        • Hill of Beans
        • Seasonal Edible Planting Layouts for Raised Bed Gardens
      • HERBS >
        • Rosemary Darling Of The Kitchen
        • Herbs Uses, History And Cultivation >
          • Bay Laurel Essential Oils: Keeping The Immune System Healthy
          • Basil Essential Oil for Memory & Concentration
          • Comfrey The Best-Known Healing Herb
          • Basil The 2003 herb of the year - Cultivation, History, Medicinal Use
          • Comfrey - A Controversial Herb
          • Eucalyptus in the Landscape and Cough Drops
          • German Chamomile: Herbal Tea And Treatments
          • Eucalyptus Essential Oils: Treatments For Skin Conditions And Respiratory Systems
          • Geranium, Pelargonium Odoratissimum Essential Oils: A Fresh Rose-Like Scent
          • German Chamomile Essential Oils: Anti-Inflammatory Properties
          • Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis L.: A Long And Colorful Folk History Native Plant
          • Perilla, P. Frutescens: An Interesting And Valuable Addition To The Garden
          • Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis: In The Herbalist's Medicine Cabinet
          • Thyme - With Culinary, Medical And Aromatherapy Uses
          • Yarrow Essential Oils, A Pretty Healer
      • FOOD Health Organics >
        • Eat Local
        • LOCAL food in Mecklenburg
        • Carolina Produce
        • Grow Healthy Kids with Gardening
        • Grow Top 6 Veggies
        • Okra Southern Food
        • Sweet Potatoes
        • Let Us Eat Lettuce
        • Green Leafy Friends
        • Canning Basics 101
        • Snappy Green Beans
        • Tasty Peas
        • Gardener Skin Care
        • Summer Heat Safety
        • Produce Your Produce Grow Guide
      • BULBS, Rhizomes >
        • Coo-Coo for Crocus
        • Bulbs for Spring Planting, Summer Bloom
        • Tall Bearded Irises Dig Divide
        • Bulbs For Fall Planting Spring Bloom In Mecklenburg County And Region
        • Cool Crinum Beat the Heat
        • Silly Scilla! in September
        • Daylily 'Genesta' Tall Blond
      • NATIVE Plants >
        • Natives With Winter Interest
        • Native Plants for All Seasons
        • Ameliorating Habitat Loss
        • Native Plants With Spring Interest
        • Tough Plants for Tough Times
      • Invasive Exotics
      • FAVORITE Plants >
        • Japanese Maple Ferns Black Mondo - A Winning Combination
        • Spring Woodland Gift
        • Winning Perennial Plant Combo
        • How to Stop A Car!
      • FRUIT >
        • D - Easy Fruit Growing
      • PERENNIAL Flowers >
        • Gardening Basics
        • Seeds for Winter Sowing
        • Right Plant Right Place
        • Black Lenten Rose
        • Trillium
        • Amur Adonis
        • Hosta 'Empress Wu'
        • Wa-Hoo For Waipahu!
        • Chrysanthemum
        • Ranunculus
        • Ragged Robin
        • Toadflax Canon J. Went
        • Spurge Euphorbia
      • SHRUBS, pruning >
        • Pruning Boxwoods
        • Paperbush Edgeworthia
        • Camellia Primer
        • Spider Azalea
        • Garden Borders
      • LAWNS Groundcover
      • GARDEN DESIGN >
        • Rain Gardening
        • Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Garden
      • CONIFERS >
        • White Cedar Cypress
        • Growing Conifers in the South
        • Select Pines for Carolinas
        • Eastern Red Cedar
        • Yews and Plum Yews
        • Hemlocks Tsuga
        • Japanese Cedars
        • Spruces Picea
      • TREES, care, resources >
        • Flowering Apricot
        • Witch Hazel Hybrids
        • Redbud Primer
        • Dogwood Primer
        • Growing Bamboo
        • Crape Myrtle 'Violet Filli'
        • Earth-Friendly Lawn
        • Managing Lawns Environmentally
        • Acer palmatum 'Bihou'
      • SOIL compost >
        • SOIL in the Piedmont
        • SOIL pH guide
        • SOIL Mecklenburg basics
        • Topsoil the dirt about
        • Prep SOIL for transplants
        • Build SOIL fertility
        • Garden Recycling: Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes . . .
        • MICROCLIMATES
        • Heat Wave Garden Tips
        • Why Should We Care about Biodiversity
        • Why Biodiversity Is Slipping Away
        • Plant Hardiness Zones From The USDA (2012 update)
        • Biological Islands for Cleaner Water Purification through Floating Treatment Wetlands
      • BUGS & Insects >
        • YELLOW JACKETS look out!
        • SLUGS a beer fest
        • HORNWORM control
      • WILDLIFE, Varmints >
        • DEER stinky control that works
        • RABBITS defend your garden
        • SQUIRRELS what really works
        • VOLES what will & won't work
        • MOLES what works
        • PESKY 'POSSUMS
        • PESKY RACCOONS
        • SNAKES gracious Alive!

October
​Garden Tasks
in the Piedmont


​Vegetables

Picture
October is a great time of year to enjoy the garden
  • Plant onion sets, garlic, cabbage, collards, swiss chard and kale. 
  • Watch for and treat green worms on broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and collards.
  • Wrap green tomatoes individually in newspaper and store them in a cool dry place before the first frost for fresh tomatoes into December.
  • Pumpkins and winter squash store better if they are harvested with a few inches of stem remaining intact.   
  • A great resource is the planting calendar for Central North Carolina covering vegetables, fruits and herbs.   

Perennials, Annuals & Bulbs

  • ​​Perennials:
    • Continue to dig and divide spring and early summer blooming perennials before the foliage dies back.  Daylily, hostas and shasta daisies are some examples. 
    • Place identification markers beside herbaceous perennials before they die back for the winter, so they won’t be disturbed when planting in the spring. 
    • Clean, crushed eggshell may be sprinkled around hostas, Lamb’s ear and other plants that slugs adore.   
  • Annuals:
    • Plant pansies, snapdragons and ornamental vegetables for fall color.   ​
  • Bulbs:
    • Plant spring-blooming bulbs from late October through December. 
    • Keep your bulbs in the refrigerator until you’re ready to plant them.
  • Elephant ears and Caladium bulbs: 
    • ​Dig up and store.
    • Keep in dry peat moss in a cool place to replant next spring.  
  • Paper whites and Amaryllis bulbs:
    • Plant late this month and early November.  
    • Allow six weeks from the time you plant for the flowers to open. 

Trees, Shrubs & Groundcovers

  • Plant new trees and shrubs.  
  • Start that fall leaf pile. 
  • Watch for and treat lacebugs on azalea and pyracantha.  
  • Fertilize your roses, if you didn't do this in September.  

Lawn & Landscaping

Plant cool season grasses like tall fescue.
  • Rake newly seeded lawns weekly to prevent leaves from smothering the new grass.  
  • Aerate lawns​. Coring lawns, subject to heavy traffic and/or clay soil, will help to minimize compaction and improve rooting. 
  • Build a leaf pile and improve your garden soil. ​

More Fall Tasks

  • If your water garden is small, cover it with a tight mesh netting to keep leaves out of the pond.  
  • Start a compost pile:  
    • Make use of all those falling leaves and have compost ready to work into the garden next spring.   Remember: don't add weeds or diseased foliage, and stems go in the compost pile.  
  • Houseplants that spent the summer outdoors should be cleaned up and brought indoors when night temperatures fall below 50 degrees. 
    • Check for insects and spray well with water to wash off insects and their eggs.
  • Fill your birdfeeders and birdbaths for migrating friends flying south.  
  • Leave seed-bearing perennials – i.e., ornamental grasses, coneflower, sunflowers, black-eyed Susan – to feed the birds and to provide cover for beneficial insects over the winter.   
  • Gather materials for winter arrangements; hang them upside down to air-dry in a warm dark room -- try salvia, Silver King artemisia, purple coneflower, goldenrod, hydrangea, lamb's ears, zinnia and ornamental grasses.  
 Mecklenburg Extension Master Gardener℠ Volunteers 
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