If you wish to convert yard space to garden beds, spread newspaper or cardboard covered by mulch over the area. By spring, all weeds will have died.
Gardening Tasks by Month for New Stuyahok, AK
Gardening Tasks for October
New Stuyahok, AK
Cover compost piles with black plastic to keep rain from making them too soggy.
Shut off your water and drain systems. Put away your hose and equipment.
Keep watering your evergreens. This helps to keep them from drying out in winter.
Mow your lawn a little shorter than usual to help prevent snow mold. You can apply a lawn fertilizer formulated for fall now.
Dig out geraniums if you are overwintering.
Reduce the water supply for houseplants to help harden them off for winter.
Save seeds from your favorite vegetable, fruit, and flower plants. Dry the seeds and store them in airtight containers in a cool and dry place over the winter.
Clean up your lawn of any leaves and fallen fruit and vegetables to discourage pests and diseases from your lawn and gardens.
Apply a layer of mulch around your roses, azaleas, rhododendrons, and berry plants for winter protection.
Trim or stake your bushy perennial plants to avoid any wind damage.
Dig up and repot herb plants to bring them inside for the winter; keep them in a sunny place.
Before the spring, test your garden soil for its pH levels. Contract your local Cooperative Extension office for a soil kit.
If you have empty garden spots, cover with leaves, manure, or compost. Or plant winter cover crops such as rye grass or clover. All will enrich the soil and keep weeds away.
October is still a good time to plant trees and shrubs.
Plant garlic. It will overwinter and be ready to harvest next summer. See our Garlic page.
Harvest and store apples in a cool place at about 40 degrees, not on the counter.
Ripen green tomatoes indoors or in a paper bag.
Mix organic materials into your soil before the ground freezes.
Do a final weeding before winter and clean up any debris from your garden and lawn to avoid disease come spring.
Dig, clean, and store tuberous begonias if frost threatens.
Plant hardy spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, and crocus; add bulb fertilizer and be sure to water them before the ground freezes. Select big, hearty-size bulbs.
Improve poor lawns with a fall round of core aerating, reseeding, and top-dressing with ¼ inch of compost before October 15.
Mulch carrots, parsnips, and beets for winter harvesting.