Happy fall y’all! Both calendar and weather are in tune and the Queen City is starting to see leaves changing here and there and some are beginning to fall. You know what that means, more items on your gardening to do list. Here is your October gardening to do list for Charlotte, North Carolina.
Plan and Plant
Come and shop for beautiful fall textures and colors! Add fall favorites like asters, mums, pansies, dusty miller and ornamental kale and cabbage to your planters. With proper care they’ll last all through the cold season. Clip off any spent blossoms.
Start planning your spring bulb display now and hit Blackhawk Hardware’s Garden Center early to pick the best bulbs. Select varieties with different blooming times for continuous color in your yards.
Now is a good time to sow cold season herbs like chives, cilantro, and parsley directly into the soil.
Feel free to continue planting or transplanting shrubs, trees and so forth early this month.
Watering
You’ll get tired of us repeating this, but water, water, water! October is a dry months here in Charlotte and as a gardener you will need to provide your plants with what nature is depriving them off right now. Help your newly planted bushes and trees to get strong by providing them with ample water.
Evergreens that make our Charlotte yards so beautiful aren’t preserving water by shedding their leaves so water them until the first frost to ensure their health into next year.
We hope you’ve been busy planting fall vegetables during the last few weeks and cute little seedlings are growing nicely in your vegetable beds and containers. Keep watering them generously while the weather is as dry as it has been.
Leaves
Most trees are still green in the Queen City but that won’t last long and we’ve seen the first leaves fall. For now, while the leaves are manageable, just use your lawn mower to shred the leaves and use as mulch. Once we’re getting more into fall, remove the leaves from your lawn regularly so they don’t harm your grass. Compost them or just bag them up for the city to pick them up.
Lawns
There is still time to aerate and over-seed your lawns but we don’t recommend dillydallying. Water the new grass appropriately so it can become strong before frost hits.
Prepare for Winter
Later this month start monitoring the temperature forecast. If frost is near, bring sensitive plants inside. Dig up any tropicals and let them enjoy winter in your warm home.
Harvest
Pick yourself a festive gourd and enjoy carving a spooky pumpkin!
Last but not least, enjoy the last bits of your summer crop if you haven’t pulled the plants out yet. Bring in any tomatoes that are still on the vines; green ones can continue ripening indoors or you can simply fry them for some fried green tomatoes. Some of your fall lettuce will start to ripen and if you’re lucky you’ll be able to enjoy the last of your tomatoes with some fresh baby greens. Throw in tops of beets and carrots that you remove when thinning your beds. Enjoy!
