October in the garden

Key points

• October is the final month to establish a summer vegetable patch on Tamborine Mountain, before intense summer heat arrives. Gardeners are advised to sow tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers and eggplants, along with salad greens, beetroot and zucchini.
• Native shrubs such as bottlebrush and lilly pilly suit privacy hedging, while roses, zinnias and dahlias suit formal beds.
• Key jobs this month include mulching, pruning spring-flowering shrubs after they bloom, fertilising, and managing aphids with natural horticultural oils.