What to do in the garden in October
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Zone 1
❄️ Zone 1 · Min −51 °C · Northern Alaska, Yakutsk, Siberian far north. Almost no outdoor growing season.
- ❄️ Growing season over — full winterization
- 📖 Write season notes while memory is fresh
- 🔧 Final tool oiling and storage
- 💡 Check grow lights for February seed starts
Zone 2
🥶 Zone 2 · Min −45 °C · Interior Alaska, Northern Canada, Norilsk.
- 🍂 Ground freezing — wrap up outdoor work
- 🔧 Clean tools; drain irrigation; store hoses
- 📖 Write season notes
- 💡 Set up grow lights for February
Zone 3
🌨 Zone 3 · Min −40 °C · Winnipeg, Northern Minnesota, Surgut. Very short season (90–120 days).
- 🍂 First hard frost — bring in tender crops
- 🛡 Mulch strawberries and perennial herbs
- 🔧 Clean tools; drain hoses; store equipment
- 📖 Write season notes while fresh
Zone 4
🌧 Zone 4 · Min −34 °C · Minneapolis, Calgary, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg. Season ≈ 140 days.
- 🍂 Hard frost — final outdoor harvest
- 🛡 Mulch strawberries and perennial herbs deeply
- 🔧 Clean tools; drain hoses; store cold frames
- 📖 Write detailed season notes
Zone 5
🌥 Zone 5 · Min −29 °C · Chicago, Montreal, Moscow, Helsinki. Season ≈ 160 days.
- 🍂 First frost — harvest tender crops
- 🛡 Mulch garlic and all perennial beds
- 🔧 Clean tools; drain hoses; store cold frames
- 🧅 Plant tulip and daffodil bulbs
Zone 6
⛅ Zone 6 · Min −23 °C · Denver, Toronto, Warsaw, Oslo, Kyiv. Season ≈ 180 days.
- 🍂 Final harvest; bring in frost-tender crops
- 🧅 Plant spring bulbs; divide perennials
- 🔧 Clean tools; put garden to bed
- 📖 Write detailed season notes
Zone 7
🌤 Zone 7 · Min −18 °C · New York, Berlin, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Seoul. Long season ≈ 200 days.
- 🥬 Plant cool-season crops: lettuce, spinach, kale
- 🧅 Plant spring bulbs and garlic
- 🌿 Divide and transplant perennial herbs
- 🛡 Mulch perennial beds
Zone 8
☀️ Zone 8 · Min −12 °C · Seattle, Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Amsterdam. Near year-round growing.
- 🥬 Peak fall planting — broccoli, cabbage, lettuce
- 🧅 Plant spring bulbs and garlic
- 🌿 Divide and transplant perennials
- 🛡 Mulch beds lightly for winter
Zone 9
🌞 Zone 9 · Min −7 °C · London, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nantes, Rome, Madrid. Year-round outdoor growing.
- 🥬 Peak fall planting season — plant everything
- 🥔 Plant potatoes for winter harvest
- 🌿 Divide perennials; plant new herbs
- 🌾 Sow cover crops in any cleared spaces
Zone 10
🌴 Zone 10 · Min −1 °C · Nice, Lisbon, Athens, Southern California, Southern Florida. Subtropical.
- 🥬 Peak planting season — plant all cool crops
- 🥔 Plant potatoes for winter harvest
- 🌿 Establish new perennial guilds
- 🌾 Sow crimson clover as winter cover crop
Zone 11
🌺 Zone 11 · Min +4 °C · Hawaii, Hong Kong, tropical coasts. True tropics, frost-free year-round.
- 🌴 Excellent planting month — diversify guild species
- 🍌 Plant new taro and plantain divisions
- 🌾 Sow annual crops in open areas
- 🌸 Establish new polyculture zones
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