Right now in the vegetable garden, in Belgium
OctoberSquashes, apples and fallen leaves
October tips over towards winter. The first ground frosts arrive at the end of the month and put an end to the summer vegetables. Bring the squashes in somewhere dry, pull up the last tomato plants, and harvest storing apples, pears, quinces and walnuts. It is the big moment for planting fruit trees and bushes, garlic and winter onions, and for mulching everywhere with the fallen leaves that are coming down in abundance.
For sowing
To be harvested
On the plate
What october puts on the table
October is the month of pumpkin soup, stoemp (Belgian mash) with carrots, pears in syrup, quince jelly and baked apples. The last green tomatoes end up as chutney and the last beans in jars.
Living well
Gathering fallen leaves on an October Saturday, piling them onto the beds and catching the smell of humus beginning to form: that is active rest. The garden tucks itself in, and so do you.
Cultivation guides
Vegetables
- Sowing under cover
- Sowing in open ground
- Plantation
- Harvest
Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
Courgette
Cucurbita pepo
Cucumber
Cucumis sativus
Sweet pepper
Capsicum annuum
Aubergine
Solanum melongena
French bean (dwarf bean)
Phaseolus vulgaris
Garden pea
Pisum sativum
Broad bean
Vicia faba
Potato
Solanum tuberosum
Carrot
Daucus carota
Beetroot
Beta vulgaris
Radish
Raphanus sativus
Orchards and soft fruit
Fruit
Strawberry
Fragaria × ananassa
Raspberry
Rubus idaeus
Redcurrant
Ribes rubrum
Blackcurrant
Ribes nigrum
Blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosum
Blackberry
Rubus fruticosus
Apple
Malus domestica
Pear
Pyrus communis
Throughout the year
The four seasons of the vegetable garden
Free, ad-free
Your vegetable garden, planned and monitored throughout the year
With an Hortya account, you can map out the boundaries of your vegetable garden and your growing areas, in metres, on a plan. You select your region, and the site suggests what to sow and plant in each area at the right time, along with the tasks for each month. It’s all free.
- Drawing right-of-way and zones: rectangle, L, U, O, T or free-form.
- Follow what is planted where, and for how long.
- Entertain suggestions for sowing and planting, depending on the season and your region.
A vegetable garden, however small, changes the way we eat and how we spend our weeks.
Hortya brings together everything you need to know about growing fruit and vegetables in the Belgian climate, without the use of chemicals and without technical jargon. Each fact sheet covers the process from seed to plate: when, how, and why it’s good.
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