October      

Fall is in the air! This is our best month for planting. Soils are still warm and demand for water is going down. Days are shorter and cooler, and there is always a chance of rain in October.

  Fall is for Planting

Plant shrubs and trees, natives, xeriphytes, spring blooming bulbs, perennials, ground covers and cool season annuals and vegetables.

Divide crowded perennials like daylilies, callas, yarrow, Shasta daisies. Prune back dead and overgrown stems. Many perennials can be cut nearly to the ground. Some woody perennials look much better when they are cut far back than they do if they are sheared.

Prune pine trees by thinning and shaping. You can remove by hand the needles that will fall next spring. Let the tree grow and fill out during the growing season.

  Lawns

Fertilize lawns on Halloween with a complete (NPK) fertilizer. This is the one time of the year when a complete fertilizer is recommended for lawns. Phosphorous and potassium feed the roots over the winter.

This is the best month to plant new lawns from seed or sod. Tall fescues are well adapted to our climate. Compared to bluegrass blends, they need less water, resist diseases better, tolerate more shade, require less fertilizer, and stand up better for even watering.

Overseed thin cool season lawns with tall fescue or bluegrass and perennial ryegrass blends. Overseed bermuda lawns with these grasses or with annual ryegrass.

Pull out dead crabgrass, and patch bare areas with a seed mix that matches the lawn. Top dress with mulch, and keep the seeds moist.

Lower your mower blade to 1.5 inches. This will reduce water use too. Aerating your lawn each year at this time will improve penetration of water into the soil and promote new root growth.

  Last Chance for Apples!

You can buy apples all month at See Canyon and other apple growing regions of California, such as Oak Glen, Apple Hill and Julien. Fuji apples are harvested in October. They are grown at See Canyon and in northern Santa Barbara County too.

  Crabapples too!

Crabapple or Malus is easy to grow and is well adapted to Central and Northern California. There are many varieties. They are valued for their flowers and their fruit. They look great in October.

  Fall Back

Water needs are lower by half this month. Reduce watering times on your automatic timer, and turn it off during a rain. Cut back on watering for deciduous trees, including fruit trees.

We set our clocks back to standard time at the end of the month. Don't forget to set back the clock on your sprinkler timer too. It's a good time to put in a new battery too. Timers will lose their programming during a power failure if the battery in not fresh.

  Insects and Diseases and Weeds

Watch out for cool weather insects and diseases - aphids, scale insects, rust, black spot, powdery mildew, snails and slugs. Red thread may be a problem in lawns.

Weeds like cooler weather too. Mulch will keep most from germinating. Those that do come up will be easy to pull. Spot spray weeds in lawns; use a weed-n-feed only for heavy infestations.

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© 1997 by Jim Clatfelter

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