To Do List - October

1. The arrival of Autumn can be hard to predict in the Mediterranean. Temperatures can still hit a very comfortable 25 degrees, making our gardening season so long and enjoyable, with many perennials still sending out flowers and top growth. From mid-October to the end of January is the time of minimal stress for plants so this should be the best time for our big planting sessions.

2. Plants need time to grow roots so they can find the necessary moisture and nutrients and not be totally dependent on the gardener’s erratic irrigation and fertilising. With the sun low in the sky, moisture doesn’t disperse as quickly from leaves or evaporate from the ground; so when you do water a new plant, it lasts. With luck, winter rains will help with the irrigating, nothing waters as gently and thoroughly as a soft, drizzly rain, and I bet we all can’t wait.

3. I would recommend planting any trees, plus an assortment of shrubs or lawns this time of the year, with the exception of some of the more delicate leaved shrubs and trees, especially if you are prone to frost. Leave these until next March/April when the soil starts to warm up again. Citrus, banana, avocados, and subtropical plants prefer to go into a warming, rather than cooling soil.

4. If you want to experiment with some cool season bedding plants for the borders, you can start now with daisy, sweet alyssum, lobelia, pansy, annual phlox, ranunculus, stock, sweet pea, and viola.

5. Vegetables that do best in this season include beetroot, broccoli, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, endive, garlic, kohlrabi, leek, head and leaf lettuce, mesciun mixes, onion, pea, pumpkin, radish, spinach, Swiss chard and turnip. Grow them from seed or small plants, although broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower should be put in only as small plants so they can be planted a little deeper and stand up straighter. You can often buy these plug plants from market stalls and garden centres, but it’s always worth asking what variety they are selling.

6. Trim perennials, such as salvias, penstemons, cannas, ornamental grasses and buddleia (butterfly bush), to half or one-third their present size to stimulate healthy new growth in the spring.

7. Many deciduous trees and plants will start to shed their leaves. And you might think this a huge chore having to keep cleaning and disposing of them. Why not consider using them as a leaf mulch on flatter areas of the garden; it’s organic and a great form of compost. Many people now sweep their rooves and gutters clean from fallen leaves and place them straight on the garden; it makes valuable sense. Just make sure that the trees are not diseased in anyway first, if they are, you might need to burn them instead, On that note, you may need to inform your local fire brigade before starting the fire. Legally you should be able to start small fires in the garden from October in order to clear any debris, but the ground is still very dry at present, so precaution is imperative for everyone’s safety.

The Red Palm Weevil is a devastating pest thats affecting over 20 species of palms globally, and for us here in the Mediterranean its favoured choice is the Phoenix genus. For those who have them you need to be vigilant.

Check for entrance holes in the trunk. This is where the female with its long snout, has burrowed into the crown and lain her eggs. They are often seen around newly cut fronds where the fibre is softer, or at the very base of the stem. If you see loose fibrous material, hear munching sounds or see cocoons made from the palm fibre, then you have been affected.

I would suggest you check every two weeks around the palm to look for signs, as early detection will offer the best chance of your palm’s survival. Despite us moving into the Autumn they are still very active.

An antidote has been developed, but as it’s in its very early stages of development, it's not been allowed to market. Hopefully, within a few months, we will see an end to the depressing sight of the dejected fronds of palms that have lost the will to live. This solution is totally organic, so will be safe to use around the world where the date, or palm oil industry is a hugely important part of the economy.

Until then, I’m afraid your going to have to use the commercially available chemical treatments and hope for the best.

Many trees, including deciduous varieties, will still send up suckers from the base. It’s best at all times to remove them in order to keep the tree balanced, in shape and retain all the strength and nutrients in the main trunk.
I noticed carob trees (Ceratonia siliqua) send up a surge of lower suckers after a crop of their fruit, so remove with a set of clean sharp secateurs.

It might be a little cooler, but we have had no significant rain of late, so your irrigation will still need to run. Lawns can be reduced by 20% but many plants will still need plenty of water. If you have under membrane drip feed irrigation,
you will need to check every two weeks to see if there are any problems.

Shrubs can deteriorate and die in less than a week if they are under-watered, even during these late summer months.

Irrigation tubing that has been placed underground often gets blocked from water sources that are high in calcium or from water that picked up silt from a borehole or cisterna tank. However fine these particles might be, they can easily accumulate and block spray heads, drip feeds and irrigation heads. Termination ends would need to be opened to flush out the residue.