October has arrived, and the South Dakota landscape is putting on one last colorful show before winter takes over. The leaves are turning, and the mornings are getting cooler. Gardeners are starting to wonder how many more nice days we have left. Around here, October can be beautiful one day and feel like winter is knocking on the door the next!
The vegetable garden is definitely winding down. By now, most of the tomatoes, peppers, and other warm-season vegetables have either been harvested or look pretty tired. If a hard freeze is in the forecast, it is time to pick those last tomatoes. Bring in anything that won’t tolerate freezing temperatures. Leave carrots, beets, and parsnips in the ground till it freezes hard. The cold will increase the sugar content in these vegetables.
October is also a good time to clean up the garden, although I don’t think everything has to be spotless. Remove plants that are finished for the season, especially anything that has a disease or serious pest problem.
Don’t feel like you have to cut every perennial flower down to the ground. Leaving some dried flower heads and stems can add winter interest and give birds something to snack on. Also, it catches the snow for insulation of the ground.
October has arrived, and it’s also bulb-planting time. Tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and other spring-flowering bulbs need that period of cold weather before they can put on their spring show. It may seem strange to plant something in October that won’t bloom until spring, but gardeners learn to have patience, sometimes whether we want to or not!
If you have trees in your yard, you already know that October can turn into a never-ending raking project. Instead of hauling every leaf away, consider mowing over them and letting the small pieces return nutrients to the lawn. Shredded leaves can also be used as mulch or added to the compost pile.
Take a walk around your trees and shrubs while you’re outside, too. October is a good time to look for dead or broken branches and check young trees for damage. In South Dakota, rabbits and other critters can become a problem once winter arrives, so protecting the trunks of young trees now can save you some frustration later. Keep watering newly planted trees and shrubs, especially evergreens till the soil freezes.
The lawn deserves a little attention before winter as well. Keep mowing as long as the grass continues to grow, but gradually lower the mowing height toward the end of the season. If the lawn needs water and the weather stays dry, don’t completely forget about it just because the temperatures have dropped.
I think October is a good month to slow down a little and enjoy the garden instead of constantly working in it. Take a walk, enjoy the fall colors, pick a few pumpkins, gather the last vegetables, and soak up those warm afternoons while you can.
Because in South Dakota, we all know what comes next. WINTER!