Gardener's work in the garden in October

The summer season has come to an end, but this does not mean that it is time to sit back. October is the connecting link between summer and winter, which means this is the time to prepare your garden for wintering. Summer residents have a lot of work ahead, so we recommend that you be patient.

Harvesting apples and pears

The more apple spaces in your garden, the more work to be done in the first half of October. Late varieties of apples and pears should be carefully picked and packed for storage. In order for the fruits to be preserved as long as possible, they should be cooled by placing them at a temperature of -2 to +7 degrees. It is recommended to store pears at a temperature of +3 +7 degrees. Otherwise, they will not ripen and quickly deteriorate.

Before storing the harvested fruit crop, carefully sort it. An apple or pear damaged by parasites or hitting the ground should be thrown away. Here are some more tips on how to stack apples and pears for the winter:

1. Divide fruits by size into small, medium and large. This is exactly how they should be distributed among the containers. This is important because the larger the fruit, the faster it ripens and the more it releases substances that affect the ripening of nearby fruits;
2. Rinse fruit thoroughly before placing in a container;
3. Before putting them in the cellar, pack the containers with fruit in cardboard boxes or in translucent plastic bags.

Cleaning of the territory in the garden

Surely, in the midst of the summer season, you spent very little time cleaning. Summer and early one are very likely to entertain you with other pleasant chores. But October is ahead, which means it's time to get your garden in order and prepare it for winter.

If you have young fruit trees in your garden, then first of all you should loosen the soil around them by 10-15 cm. For this you need a strong pitchfork. Tree trunk circles are necessary mulch peat. In its absence, sawdust or compost can be used.

If you have not previously applied phosphorus-potassium fertilizers to the near-stem circles, then in October this must be done in order for the trees to survive the winter more easily.

A few more types of general cleaning of the garden in October:

1. Whitewash the trees. Before that, they should be cleaned of dead bark. Young trees under the age of five are recommended to be whitened with a chalk solution. More mature trees are best painted with a solution of lime and clay, or sunscreen paint.
2. Remove foliage from the garden as much as possible with a rake.
3. Clear the garden of all kinds of plant debris, weeds, dried shoots of various shrubs or trees. You will notice how the renovated garden will sparkle with new colors.

Planting fruit trees

October is not only a time to harvest fruits, but also to plant trees for the next year. It is extremely important to have time to plant apple trees, pears, plums and many other fruit trees before the onset of severe frosts. Otherwise, all your work will go to waste.

In October, you can cut the ground part of the seedlings near the berry. All other trees can be pruned at the onset of spring, but this must be done, otherwise the seedlings will not take root in the soil.

When you notice that the foliage on the trees has begun to turn yellow (and this usually happens in the period from September to October), then prepare a solution urea in the ratio of 500 g of liquid per 10 liters of water.Spray the leaves with the solution to free the trees from fungal diseases and scab spores.

Fertilizing the soil

October is the most favorable month for fertilizing the soil with compost or manure. Organic matter saturates the soil with humus in the best possible way, making it more permeable and pliable. If the main "ingredients" for fertilization are absent, then you can use a mixture of fresh stalks of legumes, carrot tops, nettles, previously chopped with a shovel, etc. She will be good too organic fertilizer for your soil.

As soil protection from various pests and fungal diseases, you can use the stems of marigolds and calendula, yarrow, chamomile. They also need to be crushed and embedded in the soil.

Shrub pruning

If you have currant or gooseberry bushes in your garden, then in October, take care of removing them from dry and thickening branches. Only free branches can fully germinate and ripen good berries.

Do not leave hemp in the garden for the winter after cutting the trees. In winter, pests will breed in them, which must multiply in your plantings in the spring.

After all the above types of work have been carried out, you can assume that your garden is ready for wintering, and you have protected it from all kinds of pests and fungi that bloom with the arrival of spring.

We work in the garden in October - video