October Desert Gardening List

Ah October in the desert! The weather isn't 110 anymore and it's finally enjoyable to sit outside. Here are a few things to do in your desert garden in October:

Plant:
- In Zone 9b-10 plant anemone, daffodils, lady tulips, ranunculus, iris and alliums.
- In Zone 8-9a snowdrops, tulips and crocus can be planted.
- Desert-adapted trees, shrubs, cacti, vines and ground covers.
- October is the best month in the desert to plant agaves and yuccas. The days are still warm the nights are fairly mellow, which allows these guys to get nice and comfy before their intense first summer. In addition to allowing the roots to establish over the winter the leaves of these plants are also given time to get used to the sun. When you plant agaves and yuccas in the fall they have a much smaller chance of getting sunburn during their first summer.
- Edible plants such as rosemary, Mexican tarragon and scented geraniums.
- Veggies, veggies, veggies! This is the time to plant for the winter. Beets, onions, collard, broccoli, cabbage, kale, arugula and more.

Care:
- Start clearing summer debris from around your plants. Old leaves can pile up around your bushes, lantana and under bougainvillea. In the winter soggy dead debris can lead to mold and could infect plants and roots.
- Many of your agave will have pups that sprouted out over the summer. Pups are baby agave that start to grow new little agaves around the 'mother' plant. These will grow entirely new plants and this month you can yank them out and replant them. Try to get as much of the root as possible, but if that's not possible, replant them anyway. Do not overwater, leave them in a sunny spot and they will soon start to grow on their own.

Watering: Check your water levels this month, as the night temps start to dip down you won't need that same kind of summertime schedule.

Fertilize: