October is the best time to pay attention to the lawn, especially after a long hot summer, writes GINA PARKINSON.

WORK in the garden begins to slow down this month, although there is still an endless round of sweeping up leaves from paths and the lawn.

The rain last weekend stopped play in our garden, so I was dodging showers on Monday to get outside and give things some air of tidiness.

October is a good month to give the lawn attention, especially after the lovely long summer, which will have seen it put to good use.

The first task is to try to keep it free of leaves over the next month or so. Scraping them up with a spring-tine rake is a good workout on a cold day and ideal if the lawn is fairly small or too wet to mow.

The rake will also remove thatch, which is a layer of dead material such as moss that builds up under the surface of the turf. This is called scarifying. The leaves and thatch can be put on to the compost heap or in a leaf bin.

If there is a lot of lawn, leaves can simply be removed during the mow. This will chop up the leaves so they will break down more quickly in the compost heap and give the grass a trim at the same time. Lawns will still be growing a little this month and will need an occasional cut.

Once the leaves have been removed and the lawn scarified, areas of compaction need to be aerated. These show themselves as patches of poor growth, such as grass paths or children’s play areas. The simplest way to relieve the compaction is by pushing in a garden fork and rocking it gently before pulling it out.

A row of holes will be left that will allow water and air to reach the roots of the grass. Do this every 15cm or so in rows on the area.

Top-dressing the holes will help to keep them open. This is a mix of six parts sharp sand, three parts sieved garden soil and one part sieved garden compost. Ready-mixed bags are also available from garden suppliers.

The whole lawn can also be seeded to create a thick turf. This is called over-seeding and it fills in gaps left by summer wear and tear. Scarifying will already have created a readymade seed bed, so it is simply a question of scattering the lawn seed on to the turf.


In the vegetable garden

OVERGROWN rhubarb can be lifted and divided during October. New plants can take a few years to get going, but once a rhubarb plant is happy it can grow to quite large proportions.

Dig up the whole plant, asking for help if the plant is especially big, then cut it into sections with a sharp garden spade. If the centre has become unproductive, it can be discarded.

Then replant the rest back into the garden. Rhubarb is a greedy plant and loves to grow in moist, rich soil. Add well-rotted garden compost to the soil when replanting and put thick mulch around the crown of each new plant.


Gardening talk

THE Geoffrey Smith Memorial Lecture 2013 will be held at Askham Bryan College, YO23 3FR on Tuesday.

Presented by Askham Bryan College Gardening Club in conjunction with the college, the lecture this year is an illustrated talk by Matthew Wilson entitled, A Tale of Two Gardens.

As well as being a well-known garden writer and broadcaster, Matthew has appeared on Gardeners’ World and is a regular panellist on Gardeners’ Question Time; he has also been curator of RHS Gardens Hyde Hall and Harlow Carr.

The talk will be held in the Conference Hall at the college and begins at 7.30pm. Tickets on the door are free to ABC Gardening Club members, £10 for non-members.


Weekend catch-up

THE first frosts are just around the corner, so keep checking tender plants such as dahlias and chrysanthemums for their final cut flowers for the house.

We have had a marvellous crop of blooms from the dahlias this year. So I will be keeping a careful eye on the weather and will get the tubers in as soon as the upper growth dies back.

The first visit to the dahlias after a heavy frost is a bit sad. The foliage will be blackened and any remaining flower buds are doomed. However, under the ground is a fat tuber that can be lifted, dried and saved until next year.

Before we know it, February has arrived and that shrivelled thing in the shed can be potted up and slowly brought back to life.


Gardening TV and radio

Sunday

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. With Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

8.40am, BBC2, The A to Z of TV Gardening. The letter G is under the spotlight.

9am, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. The programme looks at the Rowan tree family.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

9.30am, BBC2, The Beechgrove Garden. Advice on winter jobs in the garden.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Panellists Bob Flowerdew, Bunny Guinness and Matthew Wilson join chairman Gibbs at RHS Garden Rosemoor.


Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Matt Biggs, Bob Flowerdew and Anne Swithinbank answer questions from the audience at Leicester University and Botanic Gardens.

8.30pm, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. Monty Don tackles slippery paths and planting beds for spring whilst Carol Klein visits a national collection of Michaelmas daisies.