Breaking ground

THIS MONTH

Start planting for fall and winter color. From mums to pansies, flowering kale and cabbage, you have a lot of options.

If your summer color looks good, intersperse new plants among the old and gradually remove the summer annuals as they play out or get leggy - or if you just want the room.

Pumpkins and gourds are a quick and easy way to add color.

Choose pumpkins with a bit of stem attached - they’ll last longer - and make sure there are no soft spots or blemishes. To preserve them just a bit longer, pumpkins and gourds can be cleaned and then sprayed with a light coat of clear varnish.

You can still plant in the vegetable garden. Plant winter greens including kale, Swiss chard and turnips, lettuce, radishes, broccoli and cabbage transplants. Last year many gardeners had success all winter with their gardens. You can also rig up a season-extender frame to cover the garden in cold weather.

Continue harvesting peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and more as they ripen. It was a good season and as long as you kept watering, you should still have plants producing.

The hot, dry September started many trees shedding leaves. Rake those as they fall, or run them over with the lawn mower. By late in the month, trees will be shedding in earnest. Shredded leaves make great mulch or a wonderful addition to a compost pile.

Some perennials are dying back. When the leaves begin to look bad, they have done all they are going to do, so cut them back and tidy up the garden. Add disease-free spent leaves to the compost pile.

Dig and divide any spring- or summer-blooming perennials that are too crowded. Replant and they should bounce back next spring stronger than ever.

Your houseplants need to be prepared for the move indoors.

Lower nighttime temperatures are beginning, and plants will struggle when they move into a heated house, with less light and humidity. Don’t wait too long or the transition will be even harder. Clean up damaged leaves and check for insects. Cut back on watering once the plants are indoors. Don’t be alarmed if you see some yellowing leaves while they get acclimated to the indoor conditions.

October is the prime month to plant wildflower seeds. Clear an area that’s free of weeds and grass, till the soil and rake itlevel, then sow your seeds. Add a few annual flowers in the mix of seeds so you are assured of color next spring. Many perennials will not bloom well the first year when grown from seed.

OCTOBER LESSON

Garlic is a staple in many households and quite easy to grow. October is a great time to plant it for harvest next spring.

Garlic is started by planting individual cloves out of a garlic bulb. Typically each bulb contains a dozen or more cloves, which can be plucked apart and then planted separately, 3 to 5 inches apart. Plant larger cloves; planting tiny cloves from the center of the bulb would result in much smaller mature garlic bulbs. Use the tiny ones in your kitchen.

Separate the garlic cloves at planting time, not too far in advance. If the individual cloves dry out, they won’t get established as easily.

Try to orient the cloves the same way they come out of the bulb - basal area down and pointy end up.

The plants like a rich soil that is well-drained and in full sun. If you can, mix in some compost or organic matter at planting. Plant the clove 1 to 2 inches deep in the ground.

Fertilize garlic at planting and then two to three more times in late winter/early spring when the foliage is growing.

Soils that are heavy or retain winter rains can cause the garlic to rot, but plants will produce better if they are not allowed to dry out, so water as needed during the growing season.

While we prefer certified garlic bulbs, sometimes they aren’t readily available in thefall and many gardeners have had success planting what they buy at the grocery store.

If you want to try a variety of garlic types, look for options from mail order companies.

There are two main types of garlic - hard-neck and softneck. Most of what is found at the grocery store is soft-neck. Soft-neck garlic is more common in Southern gardens, but there are some hard-neck varieties that will work.

Note that elephant garlic is not a true garlic, but actually a type of leek with a garlic flavor.

Most garlic plants need three to four months of growing and can be planted October through January or early February. Late planting in the South usually results in small bulbs, so fall is by far the best time to plant.

So plant now, and with just a bit of care, you will be harvesting your garlic May through July next year.