What to Plant in October

Vegetables to Plant and Harvest in October

October marks a dramatic shift in the gardening year. The frantic growing season is winding down, but this is far from a quiet month. October is about two things: getting the last harvests in before winter, and planting the crops that will give you a head start next spring. The single most important job this month is planting garlic — miss this window and you will be playing catch-up all next year.

Garlic — The Most Important October Planting

If you only do one thing in the garden this month, plant garlic. Garlic needs a sustained cold period of at least six weeks below 10°C — a process called vernalisation — to trigger the clove to split into a full bulb. Planting in October gives the cloves time to establish roots before the ground freezes, then they sit through the cold winter months before bursting into growth in spring.

Choose a sunny, well-drained spot and work in some garden compost or well-rotted manure beforehand. Break the bulb into individual cloves and plant each one pointed end up, 2-3cm deep and 15cm apart, in rows 30cm apart. Do not push them in — make a hole with a dibber or your finger, place the clove inside and backfill gently. If you push cloves into compacted soil, the emerging roots simply push the clove back out of the ground.

Recommended UK varieties: Solent Wight (softneck, excellent keeper, the UK's most reliable all-rounder), Cristo (hardneck, strong flavour, easy to peel), and Elephant garlic (technically a leek, but produces enormous mild cloves — perfect for roasting whole). Always buy certified virus-free seed garlic from a garden supplier, not supermarket bulbs, which may carry diseases and are often unsuitable for the UK climate.

One common problem: birds — especially pigeons — pull freshly planted cloves out of the ground. Plant 2-3cm deep rather than shallowly, and cover the bed with chicken wire or fleece for the first few weeks until the cloves root in firmly.

Overwintering Broad Beans

Sowing broad beans in October is a trick that experienced gardeners swear by. The variety Aquadulce Claudia is the classic choice — it is bred specifically for autumn sowing and is far hardier than spring varieties. Sow seeds directly outdoors, 5cm deep and 23cm apart in rows 45cm apart. The seeds will germinate in 2-3 weeks, establish small plants before winter, then sit dormant through the coldest months. Come spring, they race away and you will be harvesting 4-6 weeks earlier than spring-sown beans — typically from late May rather than July.

The key risk with autumn-sown broad beans is mice. They adore the large seeds and will dig them up overnight. Covering the row with chicken wire or starting seeds in toilet roll tubes on a windowsill and transplanting once germinated are both effective solutions. In very exposed or wet gardens, wait until November to sow — October sowings in waterlogged soil simply rot.

Overwintering Peas

The variety Meteor is the best choice for an October sowing. Sow seeds 5cm deep and 7cm apart in a wide drill. Like autumn broad beans, they will establish before winter and crop far earlier than spring sowings — expect peas from late May. Protect young plants from mice and pigeons with netting or fleece.

Clearing and Composting

October is the month for a serious tidy-up. Remove all spent crops — old bean plants, finished courgette vines, bolted lettuce and anything else that has stopped producing. Chop them up and add them to the compost heap. The one exception: do not compost anything that shows signs of disease (blight on tomatoes and potatoes, clubroot on brassicas, white rot on onions). Diseased material should be burned or put in the council green waste bin, where industrial composting reaches temperatures high enough to kill pathogens. Your home compost heap does not get hot enough.

Clear weeds before they set seed — one year's seeds means seven years' weeds, as the old saying goes. Annual weeds can go on the compost heap, but perennial weeds like couch grass, bindweed and ground elder should be binned or drowned in a bucket of water for a month before composting.

Harvesting October Crops

Squash and pumpkins should be harvested before the first hard frost. Cut them from the vine with a length of stem attached (this helps prevent rot in storage) and cure them in the sun for 10 days. If the weather is wet, cure them indoors on a sunny windowsill or in a greenhouse. Curing hardens the skin and dramatically extends storage life — properly cured squash will keep for 3-6 months in a cool, dry room.

Parsnips are one of the few crops genuinely improved by frost. The cold converts the starches in the root to sugars, giving them that characteristic sweet, nutty flavour. Leave them in the ground until after the first frost, then lift as needed throughout winter. There is no rush — they are perfectly happy staying in the ground until March.

Brussels sprouts are another frost-loving crop. The first frost tightens the buttons and improves the flavour. Pick from the bottom of the stem upwards, snapping off the lower leaves as you go.

Remaining beetroot and maincrop carrots should be lifted this month for storage. Twist off the tops (do not cut them — cutting causes bleeding which shortens storage life) and store in boxes of slightly damp sand in a cool, dark place. Properly stored, they will last well into February.

Leeks and kale are both completely frost-hardy and can be left in the ground all winter, harvested as needed. There is no need to lift them — they are your all-winter standby crops.

Green Manures

Any bed that will sit empty over winter benefits enormously from a green manure crop. Sow field beans, winter tares, or grazing rye on bare soil. They protect the soil structure from winter rain compaction, suppress weeds, and — in the case of field beans and tares — fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil. Dig them in during February or March, at least four weeks before you want to plant the bed.

Flowers to Plant in October

October is one of the most important months for flower gardening, even though the borders are winding down. The bulbs you plant now will define your spring display, and the tender plants you lift and store will reward you with another season of colour next year.

Tulips — Plant Them Now, Not Before

October and November is THE time to plant tulip bulbs — and deliberately later than other spring bulbs. The reason is tulip fire (Botrytis tulipae), a devastating fungal disease that thrives in warm soil. Planting tulips after the soil temperature has dropped below 10°C dramatically reduces the risk. Plant bulbs 15-20cm deep (deeper planting also helps prevent squirrel damage) and 10-12cm apart. A generous handful of grit beneath each bulb improves drainage and prevents rotting in heavy clay soils.

If you did not plant daffodils, crocus, alliums or hyacinths in September, October is still fine. Get them in the ground as soon as possible — daffodils in particular need time to establish roots before the ground freezes.

Lifting and Storing Tender Bulbs

Dahlias — wait until the first hard frost blackens the foliage, then cut stems back to 15cm and carefully lift the tubers with a fork. Shake off excess soil, turn them upside down for a week to drain moisture from the hollow stems, then store in trays of barely damp compost or vermiculite in a frost-free shed or garage. Check monthly for signs of rot.

Gladioli — lift corms once the foliage has yellowed. Cut the stems to 5cm, dry the corms for two weeks in a warm room, then remove the shrivelled old corm from beneath the new one. Store in paper bags in a cool, frost-free place.

Begonias — lift tuberous begonias after the first frost, clean the tubers and store in dry compost over winter.

Bare-Root Roses and Perennials

From late October, bare-root roses become available — and they are significantly cheaper than container-grown plants. October planting gives roses the whole winter to establish roots before the demands of spring growth. Prepare the planting hole with plenty of compost and mycorrhizal fungi on the roots for the best establishment.

Cut back perennials that have finished flowering, but leave seed heads on grasses, sedums, echinacea and other structural plants. They look beautiful rimmed with frost on winter mornings and provide food and shelter for wildlife through the cold months.

Fruit in October

Apple harvest continues through October with late-season varieties reaching their peak. Bramley's Seedling — the UK's favourite cooking apple — is ready for picking when the fruit lifts away easily with a gentle twist. Cox's Orange Pippin, often considered the finest English eating apple, should be picked in October and stored for 2-3 weeks before eating to develop its complex, aromatic flavour.

Storing apples requires care. Wrap each unblemished apple individually in newspaper and place them in a single layer in wooden trays or cardboard boxes. Store in a cool, dark place — a garage or unheated shed is ideal, with temperatures around 2-5°C. Check monthly and remove any fruit showing signs of rot immediately, as one rotten apple genuinely does spoil the whole barrel.

Bare-root fruit trees and bushes become available from late October and are the most cost-effective way to establish a fruit garden. Plant gooseberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, raspberries and fruit trees while they are dormant. Dig a hole twice the width of the root spread, work in compost, and plant at the same depth as the soil mark on the stem. Stake trees securely.

Prune blackcurrant bushes now by removing about one-third of the oldest stems (the dark, woody ones) at the base. Blackcurrants fruit best on young wood, so this annual renewal pruning keeps them productive. Do not prune redcurrants or gooseberries yet — wait until winter.

Mulch around fruit trees with a 7-10cm layer of well-rotted compost or bark chippings, keeping the mulch clear of the trunk to prevent rot. This feeds the soil, suppresses weeds and protects roots from winter cold. Need to know how much mulch? Use our mulch calculator to work it out.

Regional Planting Adjustments

October is when regional differences in the UK become very pronounced. Southern gardeners still enjoy relatively mild conditions, while the north and Scotland may already be experiencing hard frosts. Timing your October tasks to your local climate is essential.

Across all regions, the message for October is clear: harvest what you can, plant what needs a cold winter, and protect everything else. The work you do now determines how productive your garden will be next spring.

Common October Planting Mistakes

1. Planting garlic too shallowly. Cloves planted less than 2cm deep are easily pulled out by birds, especially pigeons. Plant 2-3cm deep and cover the bed with chicken wire for the first few weeks until roots anchor the cloves firmly. This single precaution saves endless frustration.
2. Storing squash without curing. Squash harvested and taken straight into storage will rot within weeks. They need 10 days in sunshine (or a warm, well-ventilated room if the weather is wet) to harden the skin. This curing process can extend storage life from weeks to months — a properly cured butternut will keep until March.
3. Not lifting dahlias before hard frost. A light frost that blackens the foliage is the signal to lift dahlia tubers, but a sustained hard frost below -5°C will kill them in the ground. In northern areas, do not delay — lift as soon as the foliage is blackened. In mild southern areas, some gardeners leave dahlias in the ground under a thick mulch, but this is a gamble in any area that regularly sees below -5°C.
4. Composting diseased plant material. Tomato blight, onion white rot, clubroot and other persistent diseases will survive a home compost heap and reinfect your garden when you spread the compost. Burn diseased material or put it in the council green waste bin — never on your home heap.
5. Leaving fallen fruit under trees. Windfall apples and pears left on the ground attract wasps, harbour brown rot fungus and encourage overwintering pests. Collect fallen fruit daily — undamaged windfalls can be juiced or cooked, and anything rotten should be composted well away from the tree.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where to Buy Seeds and Plants in the UK

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Useful Gardening Tools

Planning your October planting? These free calculators help you work out exactly how much you need.