Home → WV Guide → Seasonal Calendar → October in West Virginia

October in West Virginia

Growing resilience through ancient wisdom and modern practice

← Back

October in West Virginia

layout: base.njk title: "October - WV Homesteading Calendar" description: "Homesteading tasks for October in West Virginia" category: seasonal-calendar month: 10

Theme: Harvest
Weather: Cool, avg highs 68-70°F, lows 46-50°F
Daylight: 12h 10m → 10h 55m (shortening by 75 minutes!)
Frost Risk: Moderate risk, first frost typically October 15-25

🌿 Phenology Signs

  • Early October: Asters (late varieties), goldenrod (fading)
  • Mid-October: Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), fall-blooming crocus
  • Late October: Very little blooming, most plants frost-killed or dormant
  • Ornamentals: Chrysanthemums, ornamental kale/cabbage
  • Most migrants gone, winter residents arriving (juncos, tree sparrows)
  • Raptors still migrating
  • Deer rut begins (late October)
  • Bears seeking den sites
  • Groundhogs preparing for hibernation
  • Bats seeking hibernacula
  • Almost all pollinators gone
  • Bumblebee new queens seeking hibernation sites
  • Honeybees in tight cluster
  • Mourning cloak and comma butterflies seek overwintering sites
  • Snakes seeking hibernation dens
  • Frogs buried in mud
  • Salamanders under leaf litter

✅ Task Checklist

Garden

  • [ ] HARVEST EVERYTHING before hard freeze
  • [ ] Dig and cure horseradish (flavor improves after frost)
  • [ ] Harvest Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes)
  • [ ] Pick persimmons after frost (or pick green and ripen indoors)
  • [ ] Harvest and shell dried beans
  • [ ] Collect sunflower seeds
  • [ ] Finish canning and preserving
  • [ ] Plant bare-root trees, shrubs, berries (ideal planting time)
  • [ ] Divide and transplant perennials (peonies, asparagus, rhubarb)
  • [ ] Mulch strawberries after several frosts
  • [ ] Drain and winterize irrigation systems
  • [ ] Clean and store garden tools
  • [ ] Empty rain barrels (prevent freezing damage)
  • [ ] Build or repair cold frames for winter/early spring
  • [ ] Order seeds for next year
  • [ ] Remove frost-killed plants, compost healthy material

Orchard

  • [ ] Harvest late apple varieties (Granny Smith, Goldrush)
  • [ ] Harvest remaining pears
  • [ ] Collect walnuts, black walnuts, hickory nuts
  • [ ] Prune damaged limbs
  • [ ] Protect young trees from deer rubbing (rut season)
  • [ ] Wrap tree trunks to prevent winter sunscald
  • [ ] Final deep watering before ground freezes

Animals

  • [ ] Prepare winter housing
  • [ ] Check heating systems in coops/barns
  • [ ] Stock winter feed and bedding
  • [ ] Protect water sources from freezing
  • [ ] Monitor deer activity (rut season)

Preservation

  • [ ] Cure winter squash and pumpkins (finish 10-14 day cure)
  • [ ] Cure sweet potatoes (finish 10-14 day cure)
  • [ ] Store apples and pears in root cellar
  • [ ] Dry beans completely, shell and store
  • [ ] Make persimmon pulp, freeze for baking
  • [ ] Process nuts (walnuts, hickory)
  • [ ] Final canning/preserving push

🌱 What to Plant

Direct Seed: - Nothing besides cover crops this late - Garlic should already be planted - If missed: Garlic first week of October (will have reduced yields)

Transplant: - Strawberries (early October, roots establish before winter) - Bare-root trees and shrubs (ideal planting time) - Peonies, asparagus crowns (fall planting)

Start Indoors: - None needed

🐛 Watch For

  • First frost (October 15-25) - harvest complete, growing season over
  • Persimmons ripe - first frost has occurred, flavor improves
  • Witch hazel blooms - late fall, almost winter
  • Leaves falling - nutrient return to soil
  • Deer rut - breeding season, bucks vocal and active
  • Geese flying south - winter approaching
  • Hard freeze warnings - harvest all remaining frost-sensitive crops
  • Ground freeze - no more digging until spring

📅 Key Timing

  • First frost typical: October 15-25 (growing season ends)
  • Persimmons ripe: After first frost (improves flavor)
  • Witch hazel blooms: Late fall, almost winter
  • Deer rut begins: Late October
  • Bears seeking dens: Preparing for hibernation
  • Geese flying south: Cold fronts approaching
  • Leaves falling (peak): Mid-October, nutrients returning to soil
  • Days shortening rapidly: 75 minutes of daylight lost this month
  • Hen of the woods peak: Prime foraging (September-October)
  • Lion's mane begins: September, cool nights
  • Honey mushrooms: After first frost, abundant

September ← | November →