Laidback Gardening: What to Do in October?

The end of summer is approaching! Winter too. Temperatures are dropping, days are getting shorter, and plants are getting the signal to change color, drop their leaves, and go dormant. Well, it’s not quite the end: we’re still harvesting a few late summer vegetables and fruits, while those that love the cold are taking advantage of the falling temperatures and will continue to fill our plates until the snow falls… and sometimes even after! But we have to admit: the garden is slowing down.

Me too! Is it the shorter days or the effect of the weather? I can’t say, but like the plants, I’m slowly sinking into dormancy, preparing for the gardener’s winter rest. I get up a little later, feeling a gentle tiredness after a day spent outside.

All around me, nature is undergoing a major transition: the maple trees are ablaze with color, leaves carpet the ground, and flocks of geese dot the sky. In the garden, wildlife is busy: squirrels are burying their treasures, goldfinches are feasting on black-eyed Susan seeds, and the last bees are still enjoying the asters. Even piles of dead leaves become precious refuges for toads and insects. It is precisely to provide them with these shelters that I have no intention of doing a big fall cleanup.

Like plants and animals, I am still active. I take advantage of the beautiful days to do some last-minute planting, divide some plants, put bulbs in the ground, slowly put away my tools, and, above all, save leaves for compost and use them as mulch, so that I can continue the cycle of laid-backness next year!

Vegetable Garden

1. Late harvest of hardy vegetables: There is no rush to harvest cabbages, Brussels sprouts, leeks, and Jerusalem artichokes, as frost improves their flavor.
2. Ripening tomatoes indoors: Bring tomatoes indoors to finish ripening when nighttime temperatures drop below 43°F. Do not place unripe tomatoes in the refrigerator, as the cold will stop them from ripening.
3. Preserve your harvest: Tomatoes, beans, cucumbers… now is the time to freeze, dry, or can them while they are abundant. After all, you can’t eat everything at once!
4. Protect against frost: Be prepared to cover fragile vegetable plants if an early frost is forecast. No need to cover everything! Only fragile vegetable plants need to be protected in case of frost.
5. Plant next year’s vegetables: Fall is the ideal time to plant garlic, perennial onions, rhubarb, and asparagus.
6. Invasive herbs: Herbs such as dill, anise, borage, chervil, cilantro, and lemon balm can become invasive. Remove wilted flowers to prevent them from reseeding everywhere, or don’t, and you’ll have some nice surprises next year!
7. Cut back old raspberry canes: After harvesting, cut back canes with brown bark to make room for vigorous young canes, ensuring abundant fruit production the following season.
8. Add compost before winter: Apply 2 cm (3/4″) of compost to prepare the vegetable garden for the following year. This improves the soil structure and enriches it with nutrients, promoting better plant growth in the spring.
9. Mulch before closing: Before closing the vegetable garden, spread a good layer of mulch. This protects the soil and prevents erosion without any extra effort.
10. Clean up diseased vegetables, not the rest: Leave the residue on the ground to nourish soil life… except in the case of visible fungal diseases (powdery mildew, downy mildew, black spots). In this case, remove the severely affected leaves and throw them in the trash, not the compost.
11. Leave the roots in place: If you remove your summer vegetables, leave the roots in the soil. They will decompose during the winter, feeding microbes and improving soil structure without any effort. What’s more, this avoids disturbing mycorrhizae and other invisible allies. Less work now, more fertility in the spring!
12. Protect strawberry plants with mulch: At the end of the season, give your strawberry plants a little cover for the winter. Spread a light mulch (shredded dead leaves, straw, etc.) directly over the plants. This protects the crowns from intense frosts and freeze/thaw cycles, while ensuring better regrowth in the spring.
13. Store vegetable garden structures: Remove stakes, nets, and tomato cages before the snow falls to prevent them from being damaged during the winter.

Ornamental Plants

1. Protect bulbs: If you want to prevent squirrels from eating your crocuses and tulips, the easiest solution is to plant other hardy bulbs. But if you are fond of these little springtime wonders, plant them deeper or add manure, whose smell repels squirrels. You can also put chicken wire over the area, but be sure to remove it before the leaves start to emerge.
2. Tender bulbs, let them build up reserves: Dahlias, gladioli, cannas… leave them in the ground as long as they continue to accumulate energy. Bring them in after the first frosts, but no later than mid-October.
3. Hardy bulbs in the ground: Tulips, crocuses, garlic… plant them a few weeks before the ground freezes.
4. Dry flowers for winter: Harvest and dry your garden flowers for a touch of color during the cold months.
5. Plant now, there’s still time! It’s not too late to plant perennials, shrubs, or trees. Garden centers often offer good discounts, and now is the perfect time!
6. Plant late-season perennials: In October, you can clearly see the holes where flowers are missing in your beds, and some fall perennials (asters, black-eyed Susans, etc.) are still available at garden centers, often at a discount.
7. Add color with foliage: Now is the time to notice shrubs and perennials with spectacular fall foliage (golden hostas, orange serviceberry, red viburnums). Make a note of your favorites to introduce next year.
8. Divide and transplant perennials: Divide and move spring- and summer-flowering perennials this season. Wait until spring for those that are in bloom.
9. Watering after planting: Continue to water perennials, trees, and shrubs planted this year until the first frost to ensure they survive the winter.
10. Reduce fertilizer: Do not fertilize your perennials or shrubs in September, as active growth has ended. A late application of nitrogen could stimulate the formation of young shoots that will not have time to develop their winter hardiness.
11. No pruning of perennials: Forget about fall pruning. The less you touch them, the better they will fare! The leaves provide natural protection against the cold and will decompose during the winter.
12. Put down the rake: Leave dead leaves on the flower beds. They protect your plants from the cold and will turn into natural compost, without any effort.
13. Leave annuals in place: Pull up annuals? Why bother? They will decompose slowly and enrich your soil. Less work for you, more benefits for the garden.
14. Bring annuals indoors: You can preserve certain annual plants by bringing them indoors in the fall, either as seedlings or cuttings, to protect them from the winter cold.
15. Take stock: Observe your garden. Note any gaps that need filling and take advantage of end-of-season sales to buy hardy plants.

Lawn

1. Keep mowing as long as it grows: even in fall, until the temperature drops below 6°C (43°F) for about a week—often until November, or even later in some regions.
2. Leave the clippings on the lawn: When you mow, leave the grass clippings on the lawn. They will decompose quickly and return nutrients to the soil. Less work, more fertility!
3. Practice leaf-cycling: Mow the leaves that accumulate on the lawn and they will decompose on their own! This is an easy way to return the nutrients that the trees have taken from the soil without having to work hard to rake them up.
4. Too many leaves and fruit on the lawn: If too many leaves or fruit accumulate on your lawn, rake them up to avoid depriving your grass of light. You can save them for use in compost or as mulch.
5. Mow differently: Instead of mowing the entire lawn to the same height, let some areas grow more freely—under trees, near hedges, or where certain plants are in bloom. Less maintenance for you, more food for pollinators, shelter for other insects…and a more resilient lawn.

Compost

1. Store dry leaves: Before they all fall, start setting some aside. They will be invaluable for balancing your compost rich in green matter (peelings, kitchen scraps).
2. Add green and brown materials alternately: For balanced compost, remember to alternate between nitrogen-rich materials (peelings, fresh grass clippings, seedless weeds) and carbon-rich materials (dead leaves, newspaper, shredded cardboard). This promotes rapid, odorless decomposition.
3. Keep your compost moist, but not soggy: Compost can dry out quickly. Water it lightly if the material becomes too dry—it should have the texture of a wrung-out sponge to decompose properly. In summer, the heat can dry out the compost, so it’s important to check it and water it lightly if necessary.
4. Stir your compost: Turn the compost every two weeks to speed up production.
5. Avoid bad odors: A smell of ammonia or rotten eggs indicates too much green material (nitrogen) or a lack of oxygen. Add dry leaves and stir!
6. Cover compost for winter: Rain and snow can soak the pile. Add a layer of leaves, straw, or cardboard, or cover the bin with a tarp.
7. Prepare an “insulating blanket”: Before the cold weather sets in, place a thick layer of dead leaves or mulch on top of the compost. This slows down freezing, prolongs the activity of microorganisms, and keeps the pile alive longer.
8. Use kitchen scraps in moderation: In October, compost slows down. Too much green material may freeze on the surface and attract animals. Always hide it under a good layer of brown material.

Parasites

1. Disinfect tools after pruning: To prevent the spread of disease, disinfect your tools after each use. This prevents the transmission of pathogens and keeps your plants healthy.
2. Let the birds do the work for you: Reduce your workload by attracting insectivorous chickadees, robins, and sparrows with a birdbath or a few berry bushes. They feast on caterpillars, larvae, and beetles of all kinds.
3. Pick up diseased leaves: If certain plants (apple trees, rose bushes, peonies, lilacs, etc.) have had black spot, rust, or powdery mildew, pick up and discard their leaves. Avoid putting them in the compost: this reduces the risk of reinfection in the spring.
4. Avoid over-cleaning: Leave healthy stems and leaves in the garden. They provide shelter for beneficial insects, pollinators, and microfauna during the winter.
5. Protect tree trunks from rodents: Surround them with a tube of metal mesh (0.6 cm/1/4″ mesh), forming a cylinder without touching the bark (leave 2 cm/3/4″ of space), and push it into the ground. There are also anti-rodent spirals available. These deter hungry rodents.

Wildlife

1. Let plants go to seed for seed-eating birds: Certain annuals and perennials such as black-eyed Susans, sunflowers, cosmos, and grasses produce nutritious seeds. Let them dry in place: goldfinches, sparrows, and juncos will love them.
2. Avoid pruning perennials too early: Many insects (solitary pollinators, lacewings, ladybugs) use hollow stems as winter shelters. Waiting until spring to cut back perennials preserves these natural shelters.
3. Water is essential for life in the garden, even in the fall: Providing a source of clean water, even something as simple as a saucer or birdbath with a few stones, helps birds, insects, and small animals stay hydrated. Place it in the shade and change the water often to prevent mosquitoes. This gesture supports biodiversity, especially as fall approaches.
4. Clean your birdbath regularly: Rinse the birdbath weekly (or daily during hot weather) with a strong jet of water. Once a month, clean it thoroughly with a vinegar solution (1 part vinegar to 9 parts water) and a brush. Avoid soap, as it can damage birds’ feathers.
5. Welcome toads, your allies in the garden: Toads devour slugs, cutworms, Japanese beetles, and other pests. To attract them, provide them with a cool, shaded shelter (upside-down terracotta pot, pile of stones), avoid pesticides, keep a corner of your garden wild, and install a quiet water source for breeding.
6. Protect birds from cats: To protect birds in your garden, attach a bell or colorful collar to your cat’s collar. Place feeders more than 2.5 m above the ground, limit access to the ground under feeders, and consider installing an outdoor enclosure (catio). Every little gesture can save birds!
7. Set up or fill your feeders: Starting in October, some late-migrating species (slate-colored juncos, sparrows, nuthatches, chickadees) look for a stable food source. This is a good time to start offering seeds.
8. Add a heater to your birdbath: In colder regions, water can freeze quickly. A small device prevents ice from forming and helps birds drink even in winter.
9. Leave fruit and berries on shrubs: Don’t cut the clusters of viburnum, mountain ash, hawthorn, rose, or elderberry. They provide a fall and sometimes winter food source for winged wildlife.
10. Create winter shelters: A pile of branches, a corner of dead wood, or a thick bed of leaves can provide shelter for small mammals, frogs, and insects.
11. Leave some fruit on the ground: Apples that have fallen to the ground are a feast for robins, jays, and fall butterflies. Leave a few behind!

Houseplants

1. Bring indoor plants indoors: In colder regions, you may need to bring your indoor plants indoors as early as August. When nighttime temperatures start to drop below 15°C (59°F), it’s the right time. Many indoor plants, which are tropical in origin, can suffer damage below 10°C (50°F). It’s best to plan ahead and allow them to gradually acclimatize to the indoor environment before the cooler temperatures arrive.
2. Avoid light shock: Plants that have enjoyed full summer sunlight may react strongly to the weaker light indoors. Place them near a very bright window at first, then adjust their position over the weeks depending on how they react.
3. Repot certain indoor plants: If one of your plants seems cramped or the soil no longer retains water well, fall is a good time for light repotting. This is often the case with plants that have experienced accelerated growth after spending the summer outdoors. Repot before the plants go dormant, as is often the case in fall or when they are brought indoors after several weeks outside. However, avoid repotting those that are in full bloom.
4. Cacti love the outdoors: Leave them outside as long as possible, sheltered from the rain. Bring them inside only when frost threatens.
5. Reduce watering: With less light and lower temperatures, growth slows down. Make sure the soil dries out before watering. Too much water can lead to rot.
6. Monitor humidity: The air in our homes becomes dry in cold weather. Tropical plants will appreciate a humidifier or being grouped together to create a microclimate.
7. Check for insects: Mealybugs, spider mites, and whiteflies take advantage of the move indoors. Inspect the leaves and isolate infested plants as soon as they come inside.

Other

1. No need to bring all your pots inside: Valuable terracotta pots? Yes, bring them inside before the frost breaks them. But for the rest, there’s no need to tidy everything away meticulously.
2. Recycle your potting soil: There’s no need to change the soil in your planters and window boxes every year. In the spring, simply add a little compost to revitalize your potting soil.
3. Store your garden hoses: Empty them completely before the first frost to prevent them from bursting, then put them away in a sheltered place.
4. Turn off the outside water supply: Turn off the tap inside the house and drain the outside pipe to prevent the water from freezing.

Are there any other garden tasks you do in October that I’ve forgotten? Let us know in the comments!