October – Keep On Keeping On

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October is another month of watchful waiting. Not much work is needed in the garden now. We should keep an eye on the bushes for evidence of pests and disease. Of course, any spray program should be kept up through this month. Pick up fallen leaves and petals and dispose of them to eliminate the possibility of pests over wintering in the garden. The fall colors are spectacular and should be enjoyed to their fullest. When pruning roses, take shorter than usual stems. Water the roses as needed to keep the bushes well hydrated.

This is also time for advance planning. Walk through the garden and as you enjoy the blooms, note what has done well and what has not. Look also for places to add roses because when the catalogs come this winter there are sure to be roses that you must have.

Composting

Have you been composting your cut grass and leaves? This is an excellent way to provide a great amendment to your garden beds this October. There are many resources available for composting. Google compost pile and you will get sites with much information. Briefly, here are some of the guidelines that I have been following. Compost is composed of approximately one part of green materials and two parts brown materials. Green materials are things that contain higher amounts of nitrogen such as grass and vegetable peelings. Brown materials contain more carbon such as fallen leaves. A mixture of these along with some moisture provides a great environment for the organisms that break down the grass and leaves to make that material well known as Brown Gold.`

A mixture of materials can just be piled up; however, better success will be had by constructing a containment structure. Such a container should be at least 4 feet by 4 feet to insure the effective composting process. A compost bin can be constructed of many materials such as cinder blocks, wood boards or wood pallets that many businesses often offer for free or hardware cloth on a wood frame. The purpose of the structure is to provide containment and air access to allow the composting to proceed.

October Garden Preparation

This is a good time to collect leaves and stockpile them in a bin to use to mix with grass as it is cut from the lawn. If you can cut up the leaves with a shredder or mower, they will compost faster and also take up less space while being stored. Now come spring when the lawn is mowed, place the cut grass then about twice as much leaf material in six inch layers one on top of the other. It is easy now to mix these materials with a garden rake then repeat the process until the grass is used up.

The pile should be wet down so it has the consistency of a wet sponge. You can see if your pile is working when, after a day or two, you dig your hand a little into the pile and feel that it is hot. This is a sure indication that the pile is working. Ive found that turning the pile is not really necessary.

I use just grass and leaves in my pile. (I have a separate small bin for kitchen scraps that are everything except meat and dairy). At the end of about 5 months, the bottom 2/3 to of the pile is usable compost so I rake off the top to start my next pile and use the rest. It is great for the garden and potting plants this October. At this point, I have a bin devoted to finished compost, one for leaves and one is a working pile.

Next month well talk about winter protection.

Meet Mike Fuss

Mike Fuss

Mike Fuss attributes his love of gardening to his grandparents. As a child, he spent time in their garden picking Japanese beetles off the tomato…

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