Grow your own: October
What to sow, plant and pick in a Rockfield garden or allotment this month. Rockfield sits in a frost-prone valley, so tender crops go out at the end of May, not the start.
Jobs for October
- Plant garlic and sow overwintering broad beans.
- Clear finished crops and mulch beds with compost or manure.
- Bring tender herbs and chillies indoors.
Sow indoors
On a windowsill, in a greenhouse or under cover
Nothing this month.
Sow outside
Straight into the ground
Broad beans
Autumn sowings crop earliest; pinch out the tips when pods form to deter blackfly.
Plant out
Seedlings, sets and young plants
Onions (sets)
Lift when the leaves flop over, and dry before storing.
Garlic
It needs a cold spell to form proper bulbs — autumn planting is best.
Ready to harvest
- Tomatoes
- Chillies & peppers
- Courgettes
- Squash & pumpkins
- Runner beans
- Potatoes
- Leeks
- Carrots
- Parsnips
- Beetroot
- Radishes
- Lettuce
- Salad leaves & rocket
- Spinach
- Chard
- Kale
- Brussels sprouts
- Parsley