The Autumn Garden

As we move from Summer to Autumn there is plenty to do in our gardens to prep them for the colder weather and ready for Spring. Now is the time to start thinking about clearing away and tidying up, as well as planning for next year.

For the gardeners

September is a great time for clearing away anything that is dying off and get rid of any weeds that have cropped up during the warmer weather. September can still be dry and warm so it’s important to keep watering throughout the month as well.

Gardening centres will be starting to get their spring bulbs in so it’s time to go and get your daffodil, hyacinth and tulip bulbs. Daffodils in particular enjoy an early start in the ground, so they are fine to go in now. You will need to protect tulip bulbs from squirrels, so think about putting some netting over them.

You can also start planning and buying your spring bedding plants – wall flowers, violas, bellis, pansies and polyanthus will be coming into the shops. You can start splitting your self set forget-me-nots too and spreading them around your garden, ready for some early Spring colour next year.

For the veggie growers

As with your garden, have a good clear of anything that has died off. If you’ve cleared some ground you might think about putting some green manure down, this keeps the weeds away and prevents the rain from washing away all the nutrients. All you need to do with it is keep it cut down to about 6 inches and once the first frost kills it off, you dig it into the soil.

Your early crops will be coming to the end now, especially your tomatoes and courgettes. You’ll be wanting to harvest your main crop potatoes, it’s important to get these dried off and stored in brown paper bags or sacks before the first frosts start. Make sure you throw away any that are damaged before storage.

There are still plenty of vegetables and fruits to come over the next few weeks and months though. Leeks might be ready to pick soon, as well as any fruit – apples, pears and autumn raspberries. Later in the month your first swedes and brussel sprouts might be ready too!  

You might think about putting in some oriental salad leaves, if they are protected and spring cabbages and Japanese onion sets to grow over winter for next year too.

For bigger clearing and garden projects you might think about getting in touch with your local garden machinery dealer and talking about the equipment you might need.