🌿 October’s Quiet Jobs: Setting the Stage for Spring

The plot looks sleepy, but this is when next year’s garden really begins.
October isn’t glamorous — it’s mud on your boots, chill in the air, and that satisfying sense of putting things right before winter has its say.

Here’s what I’m focusing on this week:

🧄 1. Plant the future

Now’s the time to tuck in garlic cloves and broad beans for an early start next spring. They’ll root quietly through the cold months and reward you with strong growth come March.
👉 Garlic Bulbs
👉 Broad Beans

🌱 2. Feed your soil

A thick blanket of compost or mulch now will protect bare beds from winter rain and feed the worms all winter long.
If you don’t have homemade compost yet, try a peat-free soil improver or mushroom compost.
👉 Peat Free Compost
👉 Compost Scoop

🔧 3. Clean and care

Wash and oil your tools before they go into hibernation. Check for loose handles and rust. It’s also a good moment to empty pots, scrub trays, and stack them neatly for spring.
👉 Linseed Oil

🍂 4. Shelter and protect

Use fleece or cloches to keep late salad leaves and herbs going a little longer — you’ll thank yourself when you’re picking rocket in December.
👉 Fleece Tunnel Cloche

💭 5. Reflect and plan

Note what thrived, what struggled, and what you’d do differently.
I like to sketch next year’s layout now while it’s still fresh in mind — even if it changes by February, you’ll have a record of your lessons from this season.

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Small jobs done now = less chaos later.
Every barrow of mulch, every cleaned pot, every scribbled plan is a quiet investment in next year’s abundance.