The work in the vegetable garden in winding down. Sunny, warm days will be alternated with sudden, cold days and plentiful rainy days. There is even the chance for the first frost. There will be a few more vegetables to harvest, but in general the garden begins a peaceful period. However, there is always something to do and October is no exception!
Although you might not expect it, October is the ideal month to plant garlic. You can remove a clove from a store bought head and plant it a few centimeters below the surface. The spouts will make great full heads of garlic if they first go through a cold period. For this reason, October is the perfect time to plant garlic! Plant the cloves 15-20 centimeters apart, so they have all the space they need to grow into big beautiful heads of garlic.
It is also possible to sow green bushes like rye. This is a great opportunity to improve the base of your garden without a lot of work. The empty pieces of the garden can be filled with the help of a green fertilizer. In addition to looking beautiful and improving the soil, it will also help to prevent weeds.
As for crops, perhaps you can get away with lettuce and endive. If nightly frost is threatening, it is important to harvest these crops as soon as possible. After a dose of frost, the plants will die, the leaves will become slack and papery and will not recover. Keep an eye on the weather forecast!
In many vegetable gardens there is still quite some cabbage to be harvested. One of the species of cabbage ready for harvest is probably the brussels sprout. At the stem of the sprout, small sprouts will gradually develop during the summer, then can be cut from the stem at any time when they are large enough to eat!
Also in many vegetable gardens, the first kale will be ready! We suggest filling a pan with mashed potatoes and steamed kale mixed together, a great meal for a chilly autumn evening! Pick or cut the leaves off the stem, but also make sure to pull off the softer parts from the leaves and discard the harder stems. It is a bit of work compared to buying from the store, but the taste is worth it!
If you have an overabundance of vegetables to harvest, you are probably safe leaving the sprouts and kale alone for a while. These crops have excellent frost defense, while lettuce and endive are not so hardy and won’t survive temperatures dipping below freezing.
