THINGS TO DO IN OCTOBER

COOL & TEMPERATE

VEGIES

• October is a top month for planting out all potted plants as well as starting seeds or seedlings of summer crops.• Summer crops to plant now include beans, corn, cucumber, pumpkin, squash, tomato and zucchini. In areas that experience late frost, hold off planting out frost-sensitive vegies such as tomato and cucumber.• When sowing or planting, allow plenty of room for each plant to reach its optimum spread. Avoiding overcrowding helps reduce diseases and makes plants easier to manage, so follow• As well as getting spacing right, train sprawling crops to reduce problems. Tie tomato stems to tall stakes or a trellis and trim excess branching.• Also train climbing beans and cucumbers on a tepee or trellis. Use soft ties to avoid damage to stems.• Avoid gluts with succession planting to spread the harvesting time. Also look for varieties that mature at different times. Planting early-, mid- and late-season crops will space harvest times.