Don't put those tools away just yet

Although the growing season is winding down, there is still plenty of gardening you can do in October.

The average date of Lynchburg’s first frost in fall is Oct. 27.

Food crops to plant this month — the earlier the better — are spinach, collard, kale, mustard, turnip, creasy salad and radish. For a steady supply of green onions throughout the fall and winter, plant onion sets this month. Garlic is planted any time from now until New Years.

All of the above vegetables are cold-hardy, unlike the tomatoes, peppers and other crops remaining from your summer garden. Be sure to harvest the last of these tender crops and bring them indoors when there is frost in the weather forecast.

Most of the houseplants you had outdoors for the summer are ready to come indoors. While daytime temperatures are often warm enough for them this month, the evenings and nights are way too cold.

The tropical houseplants needing to be indoors right now include philodendron, snake plant, palm, spider plant, Swedish ivy, pothos, arrowhead vine and dumb cane.

You could rinse them with a garden hose to wash away spiders, aphids, mites and other pests. If you want to use something stronger, spray with insecticidal soap. Infestations of mealybug and scale are particularly difficult to control, and you could spray with a systemic insecticide such as acephate (Orthene), if your plants seem to need it. This product is registered only for outdoor use.

The potted plant to leave outdoors in a place protected from frost is Christmas cactus. Cool nights and dry soil are what triggers flower bud growth in this plant. Water it when the soil is bone-dry, and add soluble fertilizer to the water. Leave it outdoors through the end of October, and put it in a cool room when colder weather forces you to bring it indoors.

Continue planting grass seed until the middle of October. Seed planted after that date may germinate but fail to produce a lawn due to cold conditions. Some years, the weather is mild enough to sow grass seed around Halloween and still get good results.

Lawns are recovering nicely from the damage done by dry summer weather, and fertilizer will help in that process. Use a lawn fertilizer such as 29-3-4 or 6-2-0. In these examples, the first number (the percentage of nitrogen) is higher than the other two, and that is typical of a turf-type fertilizer.

Although a soil test report generated by the Virginia Tech soil testing lab might recommend a dose of 10-10-10, this fertilizer is more of a garden fertilizer. Soil testing costs $7, and that is a bargain when you consider the cost of a bag of fertilizer or lime.

Crape myrtle is currently the subject of many questions about pruning. It flowers on new wood, and so it is pruned during the dormant season. Moderate to heavy pruning is done in late winter and early spring, before the new leaves come out.

Autumn is the time for light trimming or perhaps for removing a few branches. Seed pods on the tips of branches can be clipped off if you want. Heavy pruning at this time is not recommended.

Don Davis is an Extension Agent for the Virginia Cooperative Extension. He can be reached by calling 455-3740.