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Gardening Jobs for October

Apples keep well for about six months at temperatures between 32 and 45 degrees F.

A Styrofoam chest or a double cardboard box in a cool mudroom or cellar can approximate root cellar conditions. Remember to give your apples an occasional change of air. Apple cider may be frozen after first pouring off a small amount to allow for expansion.

Store beans in a moisture-proof, airtight container. Beans will stale and toughen over time even when stored properly.

Onions and garlic: mature, dry-skinned bulbs like it cool and dry, so don't store them with apples or potatoes. French-braided onions and garlic are handy and free to get some ventilation as well.

Brush your root crops clean of any soil and store in a cool, dark place. Never refrigerate potatoes and apples together; the apples give off ethylene gas, which will spoil the potatoes. Clipping the tops of parsnips, carrots, beets, and turnips will keep them fresher longer.

Squash don't like to be quite as cool as root crops do. If you have a coolish bedroom, stashing them under the bed works well. They like a temperature of about 50 to 65 degrees F.

Put some parsley plants in a box and place the box in a light cellar or shed.

Put some frozen rhubarb roots in a barrel of dirt in the cellar, where they will produce stalks for winter use.

Dig up and store dahlias, gladioli, and other tender plants.

Plant hardy spring-flowering bulbs.

Clumps of sensitive chrysanthemums can be set in a cold frame for the winter. They will yield many divisions in the spring.

Clean, oil, and store lawn mowers.

Paint any garden structures that need it.

Clean up and burn diseased plants, spread manure, and plow the garden.

Rake up the fallen leaves and use them as mulch for flowers and shrubs. Hardwood leaves such as oak and chestnut contain more plant food than those from softwood trees.

To balance all the harvesting, do a little indoor planting, which will liven up the house later. Calla lilies and begonias can be planted now, and paperwhite narcissi can be started.

Water trees, shrubs, and evergreens until the ground freezes. Apply a layer of mulch around these plants to help reduce winter injury.

Transplant trees and rose bushes.

Finish seeding your new lawns by the middle of the month.

This is the best time to fertilize your lawn if you only do so once a year.

As long as your grass continues to grow, you can continue mowing it.

Remove weeds, debris, dead, or diseased plants, as well as plants that had disease problems this year. Insects and diseases can overwinter in these plants.

Look for slug egg masses under mulch and destroy.

Harvest any remaining vegetables sensitive to frost, included winter squash, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes.

Harvest orchard apples.

Prune everbearing raspberries.

Do not prune spring-flowering shrubs.

Plant spring-flowering bulbs, such as tulips, hyacinth, and snow drops. Consider covering with chicken wire to deter animals.

Plant garlic and horseradish.

Cut perennials to the ground.

Be sure to remove any leaves from your lawn to help reduce lawn problems; shred leaves and add to compost.

Test your garden soil and make any necessary changes to improve it for next spring.

After a frost, dig up dahlias.

Buy your late winter and early spring bulbs.

Divide and replant spring-blooming perennials such as daylilies, phlox, coneflowers, and daisies.

Plant winter-hardy trees and shrubs. Plants set out now have more time to become established before spring growth.

Harvest sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and winter squash.

Remove all debris and dead plants to prevent overwintering of certain garden pests.

Prepare garden beds for more fall planting; remember to mix in plenty of organic matter.

Plant vegetable seeds such as: beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard endive, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, leeks, onion, parsnips, radishes, spinach, and turnips.

Plant transplants such as: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, garlic, and lettuce.

Begin planting spring-flowering bulbs such as tulips, crocus, and daffodils.

Bring in all houseplants; check for pests before bringing them in for the winter.

Continue to replant or establish cool-season lawns.

For Bermuda lawns, apply one inch of water per week and a light application of potassium.

Overseed established Bermuda lawns from mid-month through November for a greener winter lawn.

Resume full fertilizing of roses as weather cools.

Cut back watering for your plants as the days shorten and become cooler.