October tips to have a garden-inspired Halloween

Halloween isn't just for kids. While you may be too old for trick-or-treating, that doesn't mean you should forget about celebrating. And the nice thing for gardeners is that you can find most of the holiday decorations in your own back yard.

Start with pumpkins. Chances are you grew some in the backyard just to carve into jack-o-lanterns or there's a grower that has some nearby.

The best pumpkins for carving have a flattened end to prevent tipping, but any size or shape will work. A good solid handle will make it easy to open and close the jack-o-lantern lid if you plan to put a candle inside. When cleaning the pumpkin out, don't forget to separate the seeds from the meat. These make a delicious snack when lightly stir-fried in oil and salted.

Ornamental gourds also make nice Halloween decorations. Harvest these when the stem of the fruit starts to dry, taking care not to bruise the gourd. Allow to dry for about a week in a warm, dry place, then wax and polish. Or use steel wool to smooth the surface for painting or staining.

Tie dried cornstalks in bunches to decorate your porch or entryway or hang Indian corn from your front door. Spruce up your garden scarecrow or add cutouts of bats, goblins, witches, and other spooky creatures to your garden to "scare" trickortreaters.

If you haven't already done so, get those spring-flowering bulbs in the ground soon. The more time they have for fall root growth, the better the display in the spring. In addition to the usual narcissus (or daffodils), tulips and fragrant hyacinths, you might want to try some of the less common blue squills, white snowdrops or miniature irises.

When planting, dig the hole about two to three times the bulb diameter. Don't forget to add a little phosphorus in the form of superphosphate or bone meal. However, if rodents are a problem in your area, forget the bone meal as they will dig your bulbs right up! In that case, use rock phosphate instead or "bulb food," which you usually can find in many garden outlets.

Other activities you can do this October to make your garden fall-friendly: send away for seed catalogs; map or tag your perennials; place plant guards around fruit trees to prevent damage from mice, voles and rabbits and remove dead leaves and debris from rain gutters to prevent ice build-up this winter.

Courtesy of University of Vermont Extension, Department of Plant and Soil Science.