Every month, we offer tips and hints for the budding gardener - what to do, how do we do it, when to do it - to give you that little bit of extra help everyone needs. Our resident gardening expert, Jim Smith from West Sound Radio, will advise on what needs to be done now, and what preparation is required for what you will need to do soon.

By following our advice, based on over 40 years in the horticulture business, you should find not only your fingers, but your neighbours, turning green!

It's as easy as A, B, C and best of all it's FREE!

This month's tips - October

	October is a good time to plant trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and alpines. These will settle in better if planted now as there is still enough warmth in the soil to help them get established.
	Harvest fruit and vegetables. apples and pears should be picked by the end of the month. Lift carrots and main crop potatoes and store them in paper sacks, not plastic, as plastic will form condensation and "sweat" which will rot any vegetables stored in them. Don't leave potatoes in the ground as the tubers will be damaged by soil pests such as "keeled" slugs.
	Sweet peas can be sown in pots this month and grown on in a cold greenhouse or cold frame. These plants will only need protection in very severe weather.
	Continue to plant spring-flowering bulbs in the garden and in containers.
	Lift begonia and gladioli corms and dahlia tubers to store them dry and frost free. Bring into the greenhouse geraniums and fuchsias that have been growing in containers and pots during the summer.
	Tidy herbaceous borders by cutting back some of the dead stalks of the perennials. It is quite usual to leave some of the old stems on less hardy plants as extra protection. Top dress the borders with well-rotted garden compost or old manure.
	This is the month when hardy perennials can be divided, especially the congested and weed-infested clumps. Plant weed-free sections from the outside of clumps into fresh soil or replant in the old site. Discard the central part of the old clump.
	Examine hyacinths in bowls and water them if the bulb fibre is at all dry.
	Make sure the fibre is neither dry nor waterlogged.
	If you have layered azaleas and other shrubs, dig up layers that have rooted, cut them free from the parent plant and plant into their final growing positions.
	Hardwood cuttings can be taken from strong growing climbers and wall shrubs, and young plants which have rooted from hardwood cuttings taken last year can be planted out.
	Continue clearing up fallen leaves from the garden, and if there is a pool make sure that leaves are removed from it - otherwise there is a danger of water pollution when the leaves decay.
	As the days become shorter and the nights become cooler, reduce watering in the greenhouse. Try to do it, if required, in the morning. Check any heaters to make sure they are working properly and, to save heat, line the greenhouse with bubble plastic. But before you do, clean the glass thoroughly before fitting it. Special clips can be purchased at the Nursery.
	Established lawns will not require regular cutting as the rate of growth slows down (and always remember to brush away wormcasts before cutting).
	Summer-flowering rambler and climber roses flower on the previous year's growth, so they must be pruned now. Cut out all the old flowering wood and tie back up the remaining young shoots.
	To avoid windrock on hybrid tea and floribunda roses, shorten each shoot by one third and complete pruning in the spring.

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