What to Sow in October
Winding down — plant for next year and put the soil to bed.
October is a month of harvest and preparation. Sowing slows, but hardy broad beans and peas can be started for an early crop, and garlic goes in now. Above all, protect and enrich your soil before winter.
Dates assume a temperate Central European climate. Warmer regions can sow a little earlier; colder or higher areas a little later. Ask a coach if you’d like advice for your own climate zone.
Start indoors / under cover
Nothing needs starting indoors this month.
Sow direct outdoors
Garlic
VegetablesPlant cloves 5 cm deep, pointed-end up, 15 cm apart — they need winter cold to bulb well.
Broad beans (hardy varieties)
VegetablesSow 5 cm deep for an early crop next spring; choose hardy types like Aquadulce.
Round-seeded peas (mild areas)
VegetablesSow 4 cm deep under cloches for an early start.
Winter salads (under cover)
VegetablesSow lamb’s lettuce and hardy leaves in a cold frame or tunnel.
Tips for October
- Spread compost or well-rotted manure over cleared beds and let winter work it in.
- Lift and store the last tender roots before hard frosts arrive.
- Rake up and compost fallen leaves to make leaf mould for next year.
Harvesting now
Pumpkins and squash, leeks, cabbages, the last beans, apples, and root crops.