October is a real transitional month in the vegetable garden. The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting cooler, and you're harvesting the last of the heat-loving crops. At the same time, you're preparing your beds for winter and sowing a few tasty winter vegetables. Think spinach , lamb's lettuce , winter onions, and garlic . It's also a great month to feed the soil, mulch, and plan ahead for next year.

In this vegetable garden calendar for October you will find what you can still sow in October , what you can harvest and store , what you still have in stock and which perennials you can now plant in the vegetable garden.

Legend
🏠 Indoor · 🪟 Greenhouse · 🪏 Outdoor

• 🪟 Spinach (winter cultivation under glass) – see our growing guide for sowing spinach and our spinach seeds .
• 🪟 Lamb's lettuce (cold-storage late) – ideal as a refreshing winter salad. Growing guide for sowing lamb's lettuce and our lamb's lettuce seeds .
• 🪟 Lettuce (widow cultivation) – you can still start a late crop under glass. Read the lettuce growing guide and choose your variety from our lettuce seed selection .

Tip: Sow slightly closer together in October. The plants will grow more slowly, but you can harvest them smaller than tender leaves.

• 🏠 Garden cress (sprouting vegetables) – super fast, ideal for the windowsill. Check out our sprouting guide and our sprouting seeds .

• 🪏 Planting onions (winter cultivation) – plant winter onions in well-drained, not too wet soil. This way, you'll have an early harvest in spring.
• 🪏 Spring onion (winter cultivation) – suitable for late planting/sowing in light soil; produces fine stems early in the year.
• 🪏 Garlic (autumn plant) – October is a great month to plant garlic . Choose firm cloves and plant them with the point facing up.
• 🪟 Carrots (super early under glass) – sow a row in the greenhouse for the very first spring carrots. Our carrot sowing guide and our carrot seeds will help you get started.

Note: Don't sow or plant root vegetables in wet, heavy clay. Wait until the soil is just barely dry to prevent suffocation and rot.

October is one of the best months to plant fruit bushes and trees . The soil is still warm, there's plenty of rain, and the plants can easily establish their roots before winter sets in. This makes it ideal for expanding your vegetable garden with edible berries and trees.

🍇 Soft fruit

Plant deciduous soft fruit now. Choose a sunny spot and ensure there's sufficient organic matter in the soil.

• Blueberry
• Blackberry
• Raspberry
• Redcurrant / currant
• Gooseberry / gooseberry
• Rhubarb
• Jostaberry, tayberry, Japanese wineberry (for those who like to try something special)

🍎 Fruit and nut trees

October is also an ideal planting time for fruit trees, especially bare-root ones . The trees are already in place before winter and will sprout readily in the spring.

• Apple tree and pear tree
• Cherry tree and plum tree
• Fig
• Walnut and hazelnut

Tip: Work a generous amount of compost into the planting hole, support it with tree stakes, and apply a layer of mulch around the trunk. This will prevent the soil from drying out too quickly and discourage weeds from growing.

In October, you pick the last of the summer harvests and gradually transition to typical autumn and winter vegetables. Many crops can remain standing for a while, especially with some protection from fleece or a polytunnel.

• 🪏 Endive (autumn/winter)
• 🪏 Leek (summer/early autumn)
• 🪏 Arugula (normal cultivation)
• 🪏 Celery (summer)
• 🪏 Lettuce (autumn cultivation)
• 🪏 Spinach (autumn)
• 🪏 Lamb's lettuce (open ground)
• 🪏 Swiss chard

• 🪏 Garlic (last bulbs of the stock)
• 🪏 Celeriac (summer)
• 🪏 Fennel (late autumn)
• 🪏 Parsnip (normal)
• 🪏 Beetroot (summer/autumn)
• 🪏 Spring onion (summer and autumn cultivation)
• 🪏 Carrot (summer/late)

• 🪏 Cauliflower (autumn cultivation)
• 🪏 Kale (autumn)
• 🪏 Kohlrabi (autumn/fall under glass)
• 🪏 Turnip
• 🪏 Radish (summer/autumn)
• 🪏 Red cabbage (autumn)
• 🪏 Savoy cabbage (autumn)
• 🪏 Brussels sprouts (summer/mid-early)
• 🏠 Garden cress
• 🪏 White cabbage (autumn/preservation)
• 🪏 Potatoes (late varieties, last harvest)
• 🪏 Courgette (late harvest, pick off the last fruits)
• 🪏 Paprika & chilli (greenhouse or tunnel, bring in before the first frost)
• 🪏 Pumpkin (ripen and store dry)

• Basil (often last harvest, frost sensitive)
• Chives
• Dill
• Dragon
• Chervil
• Coriander
• Coin
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Thyme

In October, there's usually still plenty of fresh greens in the greenhouse or conservatory. Whatever you're no longer harvesting fresh can be removed from the freezer or storage container.

• Leafy vegetables – abundantly available in the cold greenhouse or conservatory (lamb's lettuce, spinach, rocket, Swiss chard, etc.)
• Cabbage crops – most are still outside; if necessary, freeze some chopped (kale, broccoli).

• Frozen peas
• Snow peas – frozen
• (Optional) beans – canned or frozen

• Potatoes – store in a cool, dark and dry place
• Onion, shallot and garlic – as storage onion in a box or braided string
• Carrot – in storage sand, box or frozen/sterilized

• Pickle – preserved
• Courgette – canned or frozen
• Cucumber – pickled
• Corn – in the freezer
• Tomato – dried, in oil or sterilized
• Pumpkin – stored cool and dry or frozen in cubes
• Herbs – usually dried (thyme, mint, tarragon, chives, dill, coriander, parsley, basil, rosemary, sage, etc.)

Remove diseased plants and visibly exhausted crops, but leave some healthy plant material, flower stems, and dead leaves for insects and birds. This combines cleanliness with biodiversity.

Cover empty beds with a layer of straw, leaves, grass clippings, or compost. Mulch protects the soil from driving rain and leaching, nourishes soil life, and ensures a nice crumbly texture for sowing in spring.

October is perfect for garlic and winter onions . Plant in well-drained soil and avoid fresh manure. A cold spell in winter will ensure beautiful, large bulbs later.

Use fleece or a simple tunnel to protect lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and young plants from the first frost. This way, you can easily extend your harvest season by several weeks.

Don't leave pumpkins wet on the ground for too long. Harvest them with a piece of stem attached, let them dry for a week in a warm, airy place, and then store them in a cool, dry place. This prevents rot and extends their shelf life.

If the soil isn't too cold and wet yet, you can sow a quick-growing green manure on empty beds. This will protect the soil, suppress weeds, and provide organic matter if you dig it in or mow it and leave it in place in the spring.

Remove old crops, weeds, and plant debris from the greenhouse. Wash windows and frames to maximize light penetration during the darker months. This will make a big difference for your winter crops.

Mix cabbage scraps, leaves, and other garden materials thoroughly, ensuring a balance between "brown" (dry) and "green" (fresh) material. You can also add a layer of old compost or soil as a starter for the microorganisms.

Keep track of where your cabbages, root crops, fruit crops, and legumes were planted this year. This way, you can easily create a crop rotation plan in the winter to help prevent diseases and pests.

Allow a few vigorous plants to bolt and ripen. Harvest the seeds on a dry day, dry them further indoors, and store them in paper bags. This way, you can build your own seed library step by step.

In short: October is the month of wrapping up and looking ahead. With a little planning and protection, you'll not only harvest abundantly now, but you'll also lay the foundation for a flying start to the new gardening season.