October Gardening Tips

fall leaves 

  • Harvest most fruits before frost.
  • Continue removing diseased leaves.  Put diseased leaves, pesticide-laden grass clippings and weed seeds out for recycling rather than the compost pile.  For Montgomery County guidelines on recycling yard trimmings visit:  http://m.montgomerycountymd.gov/SWS/how/yard-trim.html
  • Mulch or compost healthy leaves.
  •  You can have vegetable garden and landscape soils tested (see https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/soils/soil-testing for more information on soil test labs and how to take a soil sample)
  •  From mid-October through November, plant hardy bulbs for spring flowering – this can include onion and garlic bulbs!

Source: University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center
http://extension.umd.edu/hgic