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October planting calendar

autumn

What to plant in October

Garlic planting month across most US zones plus heavy harvest and bed prep. Zones 8-10 are in active cool-season growing; zones 3-7 transition to winter mode.

Universal October tasks

These tasks apply to most temperate gardens across the US and UK in October. Check the per-zone sections below for the specific crops to plant in your zone.

UK gardeners — October

October is the UK's garlic month — plant hardneck garlic by month's end. Sow overwintering broad beans, peas (Meteor, Douce Provence), and field beans. Plant out spring cabbage and overwintering onions. Harvest pumpkins, squash, apples, and main-crop potatoes.

Most of England and Wales falls in RHS H4-H5 (roughly USDA 7-8). Scotland skews cooler (H3-H4); coastal southwest skews warmer (H5). See UK hardiness ratings →

October planting by USDA zone

Pick your USDA zone for the full crop-by-crop list for October. Each zone page includes sowing, transplanting, harvesting, and maintenance actions.

Zone 3 — October

4 actions
  • Harvest: Final tomatoes (under cover), winter squash, pumpkins, root crops, kale
  • Sow outdoors: Cover crops — winter rye on empty beds
  • Maintain: Mulch garlic with 10-15 cm of straw before deep freeze

See full zone 3 plan →

Zone 4 — October

4 actions
  • Sow outdoors: Garlic (early October)
  • Harvest: Final root crops, kale, brassicas under cover, winter squash, pumpkins
  • Sow outdoors: Cover crops — winter rye, oats, vetch

See full zone 4 plan →

Zone 5 — October

4 actions
  • Sow outdoors: Garlic (mid-October)
  • Harvest: Root crops, kale, brassicas, winter squash, pumpkins, apples, late raspberries
  • Sow outdoors: Cover crops, overwintering onions, shallots

See full zone 5 plan →

Zone 6 — October

4 actions
  • Sow outdoors: Garlic, shallots, overwintering onions
  • Harvest: Apples, pears, winter squash, pumpkins, kale, brassicas, late tomatoes
  • Sow outdoors: Mache, spinach (cold-hardy varieties), winter lettuce under cover

See full zone 6 plan →

Zone 7 — October

4 actions
  • Sow outdoors: Garlic (mid- to late October)
  • Sow outdoors: Spinach, lettuce, kale, mustard, radishes, peas (for spring harvest)
  • Harvest: Sweet potatoes, peanuts, late tomatoes, peppers, apples, kale

See full zone 7 plan →

Zone 8 — October

4 actions
  • Sow outdoors: Garlic (late October to November), shallots
  • Sow outdoors: Lettuce, spinach, kale, mustard, carrots, beets, peas, radishes
  • Transplant: Brassicas, lettuce, kale, collards, chard

See full zone 8 plan →

Zone 9 — October

4 actions
  • Sow outdoors: Carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, kale, mustard, peas, radishes, broccoli, cabbage
  • Transplant: Cool-season crops — main season opens
  • Sow outdoors: Garlic (late October to November)

See full zone 9 plan →

Zone 10 — October

4 actions
  • Sow outdoors: Cool-season main season — lettuce, kale, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, beets, peas, radishes, spinach
  • Transplant: Brassica transplants, herbs (parsley, cilantro)
  • Harvest: Citrus, tropical fruit, hot peppers, sweet potatoes

See full zone 10 plan →

Zones 1-2 and 11-13 in October

Sub-Arctic zones 1-2 (interior Alaska and northern Canada) are still effectively dormant for any month outside June-August. Greenhouse and cold-frame work dominates the calendar; outdoor planting compresses into a 60-90 day window.

Tropical zones 11-13 (Hawaii, southern Florida, Puerto Rico) have no frost cycle. Calendar timing depends on the wet/dry seasons rather than spring/fall frost — most temperate crops grow October through April, with the hot-wet summer as the off-season.

Source and methodology

Timing curated against US Cooperative Extension publications (UNL, UMN, NC State, Texas A&M, UF/IFAS, Oregon State) and cross-checked against the RHS sowing calendar for UK readers. Frost-date averages from NOAA Climate Data Online. Curated by the Growli editorial team.

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