Time to plant garlic and onions

Garlic and grass are two of the main concerns in October. Frost is likely at any time this month; the average frost date for Lynchburg is Oct. 27.

The onion family is cold hardy and it is now time to plant family members like shallot, garlic and onion. Shallot is a gourmet vegetable that commands a high price at the grocery store, though it is easy to grow around here.

After buying shallot bulbs at a garden supply store or in the produce department, you then plant them at a depth of one inch in a garden bed or container. Be ready to snip off shallot’s green leaves for cooking purposes whenever they get big enough.

Garlic bulbs are separated into cloves when you plant them, and these are planted up to six inches apart at a depth of two inches. Harvest comes at the end of June.

The onions to plant are small bulbs called onion sets. You plant fairly deep to maximize the length of its edible white shank, and four inches deep is not too much. Place the bulbs shoulder to shoulder, as they are to be pulled from the ground and eaten as green onions in winter and spring.

October is a major month for lawn care. Cultural practices such as fertilization and weed control do much more good at this time of year than they do if tackled in spring.

Your grass will need fertilizer this month and again in November. Unless you have a soil test done and know that phosphorus is low, just get a fertilizer that contains mostly nitrogen. All fescues, bluegrasses and ryegrasses will need some nitrogen in the fall to build up their root systems and enhance the density of their sod.

Crabgrass is no longer a problem because frost will kill it soon. The lawn weeds to control now are chickweed, clover and dandelion. Many products such as Trimec will do the job of controlling them, and they are considered safe if applied according to the product label.

Marigolds and other summer annuals are looking ragged, and it is time to pull them up and toss them on your compost pile. Among the hardy flowers to set out now are aster, chrysanthemum, viola and pansy.

A less expensive way to get color in spring is to sow the seeds of Johnny-jump-up and corn poppy in fall. If local stores have none of these seeds, check out the catalog from Wildseed Farms in Texas.

Crape myrtles can be pruned this month. You could remove sprouts coming up at the base of the plants and also cut back the branches slightly to remove their seed pods. More extensive cutting of branches is best delayed until spring comes.

Hopefully your houseplants are safely indoors by now. Last weekend’s cold front brought in weather that is way too cold for tropical plants.

Master Gardener 2012 training begins Feb.7. Applications are available from Joe Pond (384-7868) and Lynchburg Extension (455-3740).

Davis is a retired Lynchburg Extension agent. He can be reached at dodavis2@vt.edu.