October tips for Sunshine Coast gardeners
Discover expert October gardening tips for Sunshine Coast gardens from Anne Gibson, The Micro Gardener. Learn how to manage pests, protect crops, and prepare for sprummer.
October gardening on the Sunshine Coast can be tricky due to sprummer’s unpredictable weather. Anne Gibson, The Micro Gardener, shares her subtropical gardening advice to help you manage pests like aphids and fruit flies, and protect your crops with shade cloth and exclusion netting.
What's happening weather wise
In October, we typically move into our fifth season in SE QLD.
‘Sprummer’ as I call it, is a highly changeable period. During October/November, we transition from spring into summer. This is a time when climate conditions can be very unpredictable. Based on my observations and keeping notes on patterns over 26 years, this is a time when we need to be prepared for almost any kind of weather.
We typically have very unstable and variable conditions, often with little to no rain. However, we can suddenly get storms, intense heavy rain and localised flooding, hail or everything at once.
This time of year often brings heatwaves and gusty winds; a random cold snap; drying winds; higher-than-average day and night temperatures, or early humid weather.
It can be quite confusing and challenging for gardeners and plants alike! More details are in my Subtropical Planting Guide.
Garden Tasks
- Check fruit fly traps. Re-bait as necessary and decide on your fruit fly strategies .
- Watch out for aphids and treat naturally. They can devour buds, new leaf growth and leaves quickly.
- Check regularly for caterpillars to minimise their damage .
- Add compost to citrus and fruit trees. Mulch well . Pay attention to watering to prevent water stress.
- Plant passionfruit and de-sucker bananas.
- Save seeds from winter and spring crops.
- If you haven’t already, protect crops from drying winds and get storm protection and exclusion netting or shade cloth in place.
Shade structures
Keep exclusion netting and shade cloth structures handy to help protect plants when needed.
DIY options are easy to make with bamboo stakes, wire, polypipe and zip ties. Research studies confirm moderate shading with 30-50% shade cloth in a pale colour helps block harsh sunlight and prevent fruiting crops from suffering sunburn.
Shade protection helps
- decrease moisture loss and water stress, reducing the need to water as often
- increase water use efficiency in plants and protects crops from excessive solar radiation
- minimise insect, bird, animal or hail damage
- modify the air, plant and soil temperature, shade and humidity growing conditions
- buffer against strong drying or damaging winds.
Did you know?
Studies show that crops with less stress have higher yields and better quality.
Pests - watch out for ...
Our grace period with fewer pests over spring ends quickly! Watch for these pesky critters:
- aphids
- bronze orange bug
- citrus leaf miners
- QLD fruit fly
- moths/butterflies and their caterpillars
- greedy grasshoppers.
Exclusion netting and traps are useful strategies. Hungry birds feeding young in their nests keep any newly hatched grasshoppers to a minimum in my garden.
Keeping your birds happy with clean water encourages them to provide free pest management services.
Pollination is key
With so many fruit trees often in flower at this time, it’s essential to attract pollinators to your garden or be prepared to hand pollinate. Trees and fruiting crops have a high need for moisture and nutrients at and after fruit set. Mulberry trees can be cut back during the new moon phase to encourage new flowers and the next harvest sooner. Be quick!
A shallow bee bath with a safe rock to land on to avoid drowning provides water for pollinators and beneficial insects. An ‘insectary’ garden with a variety of nectar-rich flowering herbs, vegetables and perennials encourages predator insects to keep seasonal pests under control.
Learn what to plant this October and what crop varieties can handle our heat. Anne shares her heat-tolerant faves in No more scorched lettuce
The Micro Gardener
Have fun and get planting! Enjoy this time of year and if you need one-on-one help, check out The Micro Gardener's onsite garden consultations and live chat garden coaching services to help fast-track you to success.
M: 0407 777 049 | E: [email protected] | W: themicrogardener.com
