October.

Beat the first hard freeze

• Deploy row cover / low tunnels over the fall greens

  Row cover on hoops (installed back in August) buys hardy greens — kale, spinach, mâche, tatsoi — another month-plus of harvest past first frost. Under clear plastic on the same hoops, they carry into January. Vent on any sunny day above 40°F.

• Harvest all frost-sensitive crops before hard freeze

  Beans, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes — one hard freeze ends them. Pick everything, including green tomatoes (they ripen on a windowsill).

• Drain hoses, empty bird baths, empty rain barrels

  Water expands about 9% when it freezes. That's enough to crack a hose, split a bird bath, or burst a rain barrel. Drain everything before the first hard freeze.

• Empty and shut off irrigation systems

  Frozen water in above-ground lines cracks fittings and splits pipes. Blow out the system with a compressor if you have permanent lines.

Plant garlic and spring bulbs

• Plant garlic (October through mid-November)

  October's single biggest task. Break heads into cloves, plant pointy-end up 2 inches deep, 6 inches apart. Mulch heavily. You'll harvest next July.

• Choose hardneck for NJ 6B cold; softneck for storage

  Hardnecks (Music, German Extra Hardy, Chesnok Red) handle NJ winter cold better and produce bigger cloves — but only store 6–7 months. Softnecks (Inchelium Red, Silverskin) store up to 12 months and braid beautifully, but need a good mulch to overwinter. Plant some of each.

• Plant tulips, daffodils, alliums, hyacinths, and crocus

  Tulips especially need the cold to bloom. Plant now and they set roots before the ground freezes. Skip October and you'll be scrambling in November.

Closing down the beds

• Clean up diseased plants — do not compost

  Late blight on tomatoes, powdery mildew on squash — those spores survive in compost and reinfect next year. Bag diseased plant material and put it in the trash, not the pile.

• Rake, shred, and compost leaves

  Shredded leaves are the single best soil amendment you can make yourself. Run over piles with a mower, then work into beds or use as mulch.

• Collect soil samples for testing

  Fall soil tests give you all winter to plan amendments. Rutgers Cooperative Extension provides the kit for under $20.

• Divide spring and summer-flowering perennials

  Bearded iris, peony, phlox — dig, divide, and replant now for stronger blooms next year.

• Empty and clean outdoor planters

  Ceramic planters left with damp soil crack in winter. Empty them, wash them, store upside-down or indoors.