October Yard and Garden Checklist From Clemson Extension
Clemson Extension's October to-do list, shared by The Woodruff Times: plant spring bulbs, test your soil, seed fescue by Oct. 15 and clean up the vegetable garden.
The Woodruff Times ran Clemson Cooperative Extension's October yard and garden tips on October 4, 2026, by Tracy Sanders. Here is our summary of the main points for Upstate yards.
Watch for grubs: Patches of dug-up or damaged turf can mean white grubs are feeding underneath, and animals digging for them make the damage worse. A bacterial treatment can help against Japanese beetle grubs, but it builds up slowly and does not work on every grub species.
Lawns: Extension says nitrogen can go on overseeded zoysia and Bermuda lawns in October, but it advises against fertilizing warm-season lawns that were not overseeded this late in the fall. Fescue and other cool-season grasses are best planted from September 15 through October 15. Warm-season grasses are best planted in spring. If you have not tested your lawn soil in the past year, fall is a good time. A fall treatment can cut down on henbit, and nutsedge, which comes in purple and yellow types, should be identified before choosing a control. Water less often as temperatures cool, and measure what your irrigation actually delivers.
Flowers and bulbs: Plant spring-blooming bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and crocus. Test the soil in planned beds so you know whether lime or nutrients are needed, and work in lime if it is recommended.
Trees and shrubs: Compost fallen leaves or till them into empty beds. If you plan to plant trees or shrubs this fall or winter, pick varieties and find a nursery early. For fruit trees, remove mummified fruit and rake up old leaves, fruit and branches that can carry disease over the winter.
Vegetables: Once tomatoes stop producing, pull the plants and any diseased material. Sketch where each crop grew this year so you can rotate crops next spring.
Ponds: Bream can be stocked in recreational ponds from September through January, and lime can go on pond bottoms in fall or early winter if testing shows a need.
For more, the paper points readers to Clemson's Home and Garden Information Center at hgic.clemson.edu.
This is our own summary of material published by The Woodruff Times from Clemson Extension. Read the full story at the source link.