Vegetable growth slows considerably during October and depending on the year and the weather, it could come to a halt. However, there are still vegetables that you can plant in October – especially if you have a greenhouse or polytunnel, but there are also vegetables that can be planted outside in October too. 2 main types of vegetables can be planted in autumnal October – vegetables that you’re aiming to get quick growing crops from before the winter sets in during November and those vegetables that will gain a degree of size and growth and then go dormant over winter and begin growing in spring for a spring and summer harvest. We’ll cover each of these in this article – what vegetables to plant in October as well as what to harvest in October and what jobs can be done in the garden too.
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Vegetables to Plant in October
There’s a mix of quick cropping veg and salad leaves to be planted as well as some hardy overwinter vegetables to go into the ground in October. Much will depend on the weather and if you can keep young plants undercover. Here’s our best of what vegetables to sow in October.
Plant Rhubarb in Autumnal October
Autumn is a great time to plant rhubarb. While rhubarb can be grown from seed, it can’t be harvested until its second year, so you’re best buying a Rhubarb crown (a year old plant) and planting that. Rhubarb crowns are best planted in the spring and autumn months. Pick up a rhubarb crown and get started now – or read more about growing rhubarb in our guide here.
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You can preorder these Rhubarb Crowns to be delivered during planting season. They’re a great selection and this is the fastest way to grown rhubarb.
Salad Leaves can still be planted in October
Yes, you can still plant hardy salad leaves and lettuces during October. You’re aiming for quick cropping varieties such as lambs lettuce and also rocket, which works well in slightly cooler temperatures.
Top Pick of Rocket, Lettuce and Salad Leaf Seeds to Grow
Also, look at oriental varieties of salad leaves and lettuces. Mizuna is a great variety of rocket for this time of year. > buy mizuna salad seeds now
Plant Cauliflower in October
If you have a greenhouse, polytunnel or somewhere to keep them undercover, then an early harvest variety of cauliflower such as “Snowball” is a great option to get into the ground over the winter. Read our guide to the best mini greenhouses here and extend your growing season!
Mushrooms can be grown all year – including in October
Mushrooms are a fabulous vegetable to home grow. You can grow mushrooms all year round if you use mushroom growing kits, which are the easiest way to grow your own mushrooms. Starting is simple, pick up a kit – which includes everything that you need and then expand out. We started with plain white mushrooms (this is a fabulous mushroom growing starter kit here), but you can also grow chestnut mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms. Give it a go! Here are our favourite kits for mushroom growing if you’re a beginner.
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This excellent Mushroom Growing kit from the folks at Merryhill Mushrooms is the perfect starter mushroom growing kit and it’s so easy to get started with full instructions
Plant Garlic in October
Garlic is a really easy overwintering vegetable to grow. Whether you plant garlic cloves in October will depend on the weather, so you’ll want to take a look at the long term forecast. Garlic isn’t going to do too well if there’s a lot of rain forecast, and you might be better off waiting until Spring if there’s a long term forecast of lots of rain. However, if you’re not expecting downpours then pop cloves into the ground, or in a pot or container and you won’t have to do too much more until you harvest next Spring. The autumnal variety Vallelado is great for planting now, and if it gets a bit later into the month then for the “Flavour” variety.
Plant Onion Sets in October
As we mentioned in the article on what vegetables to plant in September, onion sets are great overwintering vegetables to grow and you can continue (usually) planting them until November. We sow onion sets in October into pots and containers and into the ground too. Radar is a great variety for planting in October and you should be ready to harvest onions in May next year. Try these onion sets
Plant Oriental Leaves such as Pak Choi in October
If you have cloches, or a small greenhouse then planting oriental stir fry favourites such as Pak Choi is a great option. They will definitely crop much more vigorously if they’re undercover.
Keep Planting Spring Cabbage in October
So long as October is mild then you can continue planting Spring Cabbages – remember it needs to be a decent enough size to survive the winter. Any cabbages that you’ve sown indoors earlier in the autumn can go out now. They’ll go into dormancy over the winter and start growing again in the Spring.
What Jobs to do in the Vegetable Garden in October
There’s not a huge amount to do in the vegetable garden during October, but if you have a plot with open ground, then it’s worth setting some time aside to get some digging in. (be sure to wear a decent pair of gardening gloves to avoid cold hands and blisters). When you’ve dug up any harvested vegetables and composted the relevant (healthy, non-diseased) parts in your compost bin you’ll want to spread compost that’s ready over the surface of your ground to protect it a little for the next year.
Focus too on making compost, gather up all those fallen leaves, last lots of grass clippings and get them into your compost bin.
What Vegetables to Harvest in October
If you have any potatoes left in the ground these should be ready now and so should main cropping carrots. Finally, if you’ve any green tomatoes left on the plant, you’ll want to bring them indoors to ripen indoors or use as greens.
All our monthly vegetable planting guides
- What vegetables to plant in January
- What vegetables to plant in February
- What vegetables to plant in March
- What vegetables to plant in April
- What vegetables to plant in May
- What vegetables to plant in June
- What vegetables to plant in July
- What vegetables to plant in August
- What vegetables to plant in September
- What vegetables to plant in October
- What vegetables to plant in November
- What vegetables to plant in December
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Final words on what veg to plant in October
As the weather likely makes an autumnal turn your vegetable growth is going to slow considerably, it will come to a halt next month in November. There’s still time, however, in October, to get a few vegetables in. Take a mix of quick cropping autumn veggies and some spring cropping veggies that will grow a little then remain dormant over winter and be ready to start growing again in the Spring.
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