Requested by one of our readers was an article about maintenance works throughout the year.

I thought it would be nice to make a monthly series out of this.
This is part 10, in which I talk about the works in October. You can find the other parts here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

Because the life of a gardener is tied to the weather and seasons, it is essential to mind the weather during each month described.

Japan with Prefectures by FreeVectorMaps.com

Japan is a long island, stretching from the North-East to the South-West and crosses several degrees of latitude. Plus it has a mountain range running from north to south, which will create different weathers in the west and east.
I will start each article with the average weather of that month focussing on Tokyo and Kyoto if possible.

The weather in October:
October is the time of late summer/ early fall. The typhoon season is over and the temperatures are slowly dropping. However, we still have very warm and sunny days.
The temperatures ranging from 21°C (70°F) during the day to 14°C (57°F) during the nights and we have five hours of average sunshine each day.
The average rainfall is 164 mm.

Works, which will be done in October:


Perennial care & bulbs
Perennials will start getting brown and look as if they die. However, they will get back to new beauty in the following year. Perennials can be bred through separation. It is also the time for planting bulbs of spring-flowering plants like tulips.

Preparation for transplanting trees
The preparations for transplanting trees in spring can be done now. The roots of the tree will be cut circular around the tree trunk.

 

Komo Maki on Pines
In late October, komo maki is applied to pine trees. Straw mats are wrapped around the tree trunks. Harmful insects, who lived in the tree canopies during summer, are moving into the soil to live there during winter. The straw mats will catch these insects and force them to stay there over winter. In spring, the mats will be removed and either thrown together with the insects into the trash or burnt.

 

Lawn maintenance
Watering and fertilizing isn’t necessary anymore. In October, mowing will be done one last time before the new year starts. It is important to not mow the grass too short, else, weeds will come in easier.