October Garden Guide

October! 

October is the big Planting Out month! If you haven't already, you really must prep your beds for planting if you want delicious summer veg on the table in December and January! 

Weather

Check Niwa’s seasonal outlook for updates. 

In the vege garden

Seeds to Sow for planting in November:

• Zucchini (plan on 3-4  succession plantings every 8 weeks or so).

• Tomatoes 

• Cucumbers (sow in greenhouse/ warm sunny spot)

• Beans – dwarf beans will give you a quicker crop (about 4 weeks from sowing), runners count on at least 6 weeks til crop (you can also direct sow these, just more risk of birds/rats getting the seeds and seeldings)

• Last chance to start kūmara tipu for planting November  onwards; after this there will not be enough time for the kumara to put on good size. Tipu can also be purchased online from growers in the North. 

• Peppers, chilis, aubergines for planting out in 6-8 weeks; protect from cold night temperatures and from rats who love the seeds, (sow in greenhouse/very warm sunny spot)

• Acorn squash, pumpkins, buttercups etc again, beware the rats!

• All your greens: lettuce, silverbeet,  broccoli, pak choy, cabbage  etc. Don’t bother about sowing kale unless you have a cool shady garden-  it is not happy in summer heat and gets white fly. Choose varieties that are heat tolerant/bolt resistant.

• Herbs: parsley, basil, oregano, marjoram, dill, sage, lovage, bronze fennel, thyme

• Divide or take cuttings of chives, garlic chives, vietnamese mint, garden mint, oregano, rosemary, thyme, marjoram

Direct Sowing in October:

• Coriander (soak seed for 24 hrs before sowing, use fresh seed)

• Dill

• Rocket 

• Baby turnips

• Peas, including sugar snaps and snow peas (until December latest)

• beans

• Carrots ((soak seed for 24 hrs before sowing, use fresh seed)

• Beetroot

• Beans (plant into damp soil and avoid any further watering until they are up. Seeds very prone to rot)

 Seedlings to Plant in October:

Note most of the seedlings being planted from now are heavy feeders and need generous amounts of compost to sustain them, any additional mineral based (rather than soluble) ferts very useful (eg rock dust), as are liquid ferts.

• All your greens: lettuce, silverbeet, kale,  broccoli, pak choy, cabbage  etc

• Zucchini (plan on succession plantings every 8 weeks or so).

• Tomatoes

• Chilli peppers, capsicums and aubergines if your site has good sun hours and the soil is warm. If you want early crops of these, choose varieties with smaller size fruit which don’t need so much energy to form. Note: on Aotea, regular size peppers will not ripen to red/yellow until end of January. 

• Herbs: basil, sage, marjoram, oregano, French tarragon, parsleys, thyme, rosemary, mint, vietnamese mint

• Cucumbers (they like really warm soil)

• Acorn squash, early plantings of pumpkins

• Peas

• Beans 

• Kumara tipu if weather/soil warm- from mid October earliest

Watch Out For:

• Slugs and snails (use beer traps or iron phosphate bait)

• Caterpillars (use nets or Bt)

• Aphids (plant alyssum, let your coriander flower!)

• Birds after your seedlings (use nets)

In the Orchard

• Plant bananas from mid October on 

• Prune apples and pears if they haven’t already broken bud - almost too late

• Feed citrus with sheep pellets or chook manure (3x per year but not in winter) too late to prune as borer beetle out and about

• Mulch fruit trees while the soil is damp

 Other Tasks

• Sort out your watering system for summer. If you have adequate water, set up drip tape. All fittings available at BBS and through Irrigation Express. 

• Collect/make mulch and  spread thickly as you plant, to retain precious moisture in the soil over the coming hot months (and reduce weeds).