Penza cottage in late October: what to do before the cold

The end of October in the Penza region is a changing time. During the day it can still be plus ten, and at night the first serious frosts strike. The summer season is officially closed, but it is too early to relax: it is now that the basis for next year’s harvest is being laid. We tell you what to do on the site so that in the spring you do not have to catch up.

Harvesting and processing

If you have not yet dug up late varieties of cabbage, carrots and beets, hurry. Root crops need to be removed until stable frosts, otherwise they will not remain well. Dry the carrots and beets, trim the top and lower it to the cellar. Cabbage of late varieties can be left on the bed until the first severe frosts - it will become sweeter, but do not overdo it. Also remove the remains of pumpkin, squash and squash. The pumpkin will ripen in the heat.

Don’t forget about winter apples – it’s time to take them off. But the ash and the kalina can be left on the bushes: after frosts, they lose bitterness and become a delicacy for birds, and if you want to prepare - collect after the first frosts.

Preparing beds for winter

Dig the vacant beds. Do not break large clumps of earth - so it is better to freeze the soil, and in winter pests will die. Bring organics: humus, compost, overcoming manure. Under digging add phosphorus-potassium fertilizers - they will help plants in the spring. If the soil is acidic, it is time to carry out limestone.

Prepare beds for winter crops. At the end of October in the Penza region, you can still sow carrots, parsley, dill, lettuce for the winter - but only if the ground is not frozen. Sow dry seeds, sprinkle with peat or humus.

Pruning and shelter

The garden is completing leaffall. Remove fallen leaves - they winter pests and spores of diseases. The leaves of fruit trees are better burned or laid in a compost pit, rather than left under the trees. Carry out moisture-charged watering of young trees and shrubs if autumn was dry.

Cut the raspberries: cut the fertile shoots to the base, leaving only the young. Cut the currant and gooseberry, remove the old branches. Cover young seedlings with lapberry or agrofiber, especially if winters are snowy.

In the flower garden, cut perennials: peonies, fluxes, asters. Dip the roses with peat or earth, but do not rush to full shelter - it is necessary only with stable minuses. Onion (tulips, daffodils) can be planted until mid-October, but if you did not have time - plant now, with a depth of a little more than usual.

Greenhouses and greenhouses

Free the greenhouses from plant residues. Remove the topsoil (5-7 cm) and replace it with fresh ground or disinfect it. Disinfect the structure: whiten the frame, treat with a sulfur checker or a solution of copper sulfur. This will help to get rid of diseases and pests accumulated during the season. If the greenhouse is made of polycarbonate, do not forget to wash the walls with soap solution.

Holidays and preparations

The end of October is a time not only for work, but also for rest. Collect the last mushrooms if the season is not over. In the Penza region at this time you can still find late opsoms, but be careful. Take a walk in the woods and get some fresh air.

At home, engage in the processing of the harvest: sauerkraut, make blanks from late apples (soaked apples, apparently, juice). Pumpkins make excellent juices and purees for winter cakes.

Do not forget to check the tools: clean, lubricate, clean in a dry place. Garden equipment will last longer if you prepare it for the winter correctly.

The end of October at the Penza dacha is the time of finishing strokes. Do it wisely, and next season will begin without arrears.