October Vegetable and Herb Gardening Calendar for Cool & Alpine Climate Australia

October is the mid-spring period, where flowers bloom in abundance, and the warmer weather with rain bringing ideal conditions for lush plant growth.

Despite the warming weather, cold nights and frosts can still be expected this month, so it’s important to protect tender plants and seedlings.

This month can be quite windy, with high winds during thunderstorms in country Victoria. There’s a fair amount of rain too, with rain on half the days of the month in Hobart.

Snow is less likely but can still fall in the Snowy Mountains, Victorian Alps, and Mount Wellington in Tasmania.

Things to Do This Month:

• Plant evergreen shrubs and trees (including citrus trees).
• Relocate evergreen shrubs, as they’re able to regrow their roots during the mild weather.
• Set up windbreaks (e.g. plastic tree guards) to protect newly planted evergreen trees and shrubs.
• Plant potted deciduous fruit trees and vines, since they are in leaf and have growing roots, they can be planted anytime, but the best time is in spring & autumn when weather is mild.
• Relocate any self-seeded annuals to better locations in the garden.
• Tidy up overgrown plants and tie growing vines back to supports or wires.
• Continue propagating plants by taking cuttings or layering (ground layering and air layering).
• Feed brambleberries (raspberries, blackberries & hybrids) and currants.
• Last chance to remove dead winter growth, and to dig up and divide perennial plants
• Clean out ponds and water gardens, divide waterlilies, plant new aquatic plants.

Vegetables and Herbs to Grow in October (Cool & Alpine Climate)

October Seeds to Sow and Seedlings to Plant (Cool & Alpine Climate Australia)	Sow/Plant	Harvest (weeks)
Amaranth	dst	7-8
Angelica	s	18 months
Asparagus	plant crowns	2-3 years
Asparagus Pea	d	8-11
Basil	s	10-12
Beetroot	dst	7-10
Borage	s	8-10
Broccoli	st	10-16
Burdock	d	17-18
Cabbage	st	8-15
Cape Gooseberry	dst	14-16
Capsicum	st	10-12
Carrot	d	12-18
Cauliflower	st	15-22
Celeriac	st	14-28
Celery	st	17-18
Chilli	st	9-11
Chives	dst	7-11
Collard Greens	dst	8-11
Coriander (Cilantro)	dst	30-45
Cucumber**	st	8-10
Daikon	d	8-10
Dill	dst	8-12
Eggplant	d	12-15
Endive	dst	10-11
Fennel (Bronze)	dst	14-15
Fennel (Florence)	dst	14-20
French Tarragon	t	30-40 days
Globe Artichokes	s	42-57
Horseradish	plant crowns	16-24
Jerusalem Artichokes	plant tubers	15-20
Kale	dst	7-9
Kohlrabi	dst	7-10
Leeks	dst	15-18
Lemon Balm	dst	8-10
Lettuce	dst	8-12
Luffa	st	11-12
Marrow**	dst	12-17
Mint	dst	8-12
NZ Spinach (Warrigal Greens)	dst	8-10
Oregano	st	6-8
Parsley	dst	9-19
Parsnip	d	17-20
Peas	dst	9-11
Potato	plant seed potatoes	15-20
Pumpkin	dst	15-20
Radish	d	5-7
Rhubarb	plant crowns	12 months
Rocket	d	21-35 days
Rockmelon (Cantaloupe)	s	10-16
Rosemary	d	12 months
Sage	dst	18 months
Salsify	d	14-21
Silverbeet (Swiss Chard)	dst	7-12
Snow Peas	dt	12-14
Spinach	dt	5-11
Spring Onions (Bunching Onions)	dst	6-10
Squash	dst	7-8
Strawberry (seed)	s	12 months
Strawberry (plants)	t	11
Summer Savory	d	6-10
Sunflower	dst	10-11
Sweet Corn**	d	11-14
Sweet Marjoram	dst	8-10
Thyme	dst	42-52
Tomatillo	s	10-14
Tomato	s	8-17
Turnip	d	6-9
Watermelon	s	9-14
Winter Savory	d	6-10
Yacon	plant tubers	25
Yam/Oka	plant tubers	15-20
Zucchini (Courgette, Marrow)	st	6-9

Key:
d = sow seeds directly into ground
s = sow seeds into seed tray
ds = sow seeds directly into ground or seed tray
t = transplant seedlings (small plants) into larger pots or plant into ground
*= frost tender
**= sow after frost

Download printable PDF version of Gardening Calendar (Australian Cool & Alpine Climate) – October

To help improve these garden calendars, feedback and additional information from readers is greatly appreciated! Australia’s climate varies considerably, and local knowledge of when particular things need to be done in the garden are most helpful to others living in those area, so please feel free to share.