Category: Gardening Tips

October in the garden

For the next couple of months it may seem that all you are doing is clearing up leaves, as quick as you can clear them, they have fallen again. It can feel like a never ending cycle, especially if you are lucky enough to live in a place surrounded by giant Chesnuts and Oaks but it is very important for the health of your autumn lawn. Leaving leaves where they fall will starve your lawn of light and can quickly cause the spread of fungal disease.

I always consider it to be good honest work and if you really put your back into it and whistle while you work, you can skip that session at the gym that you had planned. Here’s a little tip if you don’t have too many leaves to clear: Rake them on to the lawn and just cut the grass, let the mower do the picking up for you, a small amount of leaves can be added to your compost heap or bin in the normal way.

However, if you are gathering large quantities to save you endless trips to the tip, you could try making leafmould.

Great for top-dressing containers, rockeries and woodland plants, leafmould can even used as a top-dressing for container grown Rhododendrons and Camellias in Spring or as a mulch for perennials and it couldn’t be simpler to make.

Step 1

Place the damp leaves into black bin liners with a few air holes added using a garden fork.

Step 2

Tie the tops and stack the bags in a shady spot out of the way.

Step 3

Leave the bags until next autumn, by which time the leaves should have broken down to form rich, crumbly mulch. For a finer top-dressing leave longer. Take care when opening the bags and do not breath in any dust or spores from the compost.

Also this month:

• Plant Tulip bulbs
• Plant new perennials and climbers
  
• Force bulbs for Christmas
• Plant up some new autumn interest planters for the patio
• When the first frosts have blackened the foliage of your dahlias trim them back to the base of the main stems and carefully dig up the tubers
• Keep houseplants drier to slow down growth during the winter
• Clear garden, burn any diseased debris and compost the rest
• Take semi-ripe cuttings from shrubs and roses
  
• Turfing
• Cut back remaining perennials that have finished flowering

September in the garden

With the days becoming shorter and nights longer and cooler, this is the time to enjoy the last throes of flowering from late perennials, now is the perfect time to think about creating a border using plants that will look great during the autumn months and bring some much needed colour and interest to your garden well into the winter, something to help beat those winter blues.

Below are some plants that are just perfect to recreate the warm colours of Autumn in your own back garden, if you don’t have a large garden with beds all of these plants will be happy in pots or tubs, so are excellent for the patio gardener too.

Sedums are an obvious choice, as are asters. And both sedums and asters will survive an early frost while dahlias collapse into a messy heap. Reliable and brilliant colour, sedums are especially good for dry gardens. So are perfect for the low maintenance gardener. Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ is a tried and tested performer, massed with bees and butterflies and it will carry its flat heads long into winter. Plant this at the front of the border to make the most of the interesting foliage.

Asters take their name from the Latin word meaning “Star” and there are over 600 varieties to chose from, available in a rich range of colours these long lasting and colourful daisies really brighten up the border – they also make great cut flowers, pick them, put them in a vase and keep cool and they can last for well over a fortnight.

Rudbeckias or ‘Black-Eyed Susan’ will inject some vibrant colour into the bed and are perfect alongside Heleniums, creating a mass of orange and yellow, It should almost feel as though Summer is still here!

Also this month:

Deadhead perennials and annual plants to encourage them to continue flowering. If you are interested in wildlife in your garden leave some flowers to develop seed heads, rather than cutting them back, to provide food and shelter for wildlife. For instance some Roses can form hips which will be a good food source for birds.

Late September is the perfect time to turn your attention to your lawn. Renovate established lawns by scarifying to remove debris (known as thatch) and spike to allow air into the soil and allow surface water to drain away. It is also a good time to sow new seed and patch up areas that have been affected during the summer.

Before autumn truly sets in, roses still need to be sprayed against mildew and hedges neatly trimmed as well as getting spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips planted.

Have a lovely and productive September.

1. Mulch beds and borders by top dressing with compost or grass clippings, this will help retain water and feed your soil.
2. Get a compost bin and start composting. It’s easy and helps recycle your garden waste.
3. Grow plants that attract beneficial insects which help control pests and pollinate.
4. Inspect your plants and crops weekly to monitor for pests such as green fly. Remove these by hand or by spraying with water.
5. If you’re growing salad leaves, don’t sow all at once but make successional sowings in stages, that way you’ll have a crop for longer.
6. If you have an allotment, fill in any spaces you have left with a plant that can be dug in – a green manure – to help protect and nourish your soil. For more information on green manures visit www.gardenorganic.co.uk or buy green manures from www.organiccatalogue.co.uk.
7. Dig a pond. This is the best way to prevent garden pests as it attracts so many beneficial types of wildlife.
8. If you are growing tender bedding or vegetable plants, such as runner beans or courgettes, plant these out in the garden or allotment now the weather is warm enough.
9. Some vegetable crops such as beetroot, chard, spinach and lettuces are prone to bolting (flowering too quickly). Apply mulch like well-rotted compost to the soil around these crops after watering to help retain moisture.
10. Now is a good time to re-seed lawns if they have bare patches. To get the perfect organic lawn find out more from our booklet ‘The Organic Lawn’ available from The Organic Gardening Catalogue.