Kitchen garden
- Apply fleece to late season crops where frost is expected
- Lift and divide rhubarb ensuring each piece has two or three growth buds and replant into soil enriched with plenty of well-rotted organic matter
- Cut back old, fruited, summer-fruiting raspberry canes and tie in new ones to their supports
- In the south of the country broad beans can be sown for early crops next year
- Clear away old foliage on strawberry beds to prevent build-up of pests and disease
- Pot up herbs and bring into a frost free greenhouse or cool sunny room for use over winter
- Complete planting over-wintering varieties of onion sets
- Young spring cabbage plants can be planted in their final positions this month
- Squashes and pumpkins can be harvested this month
- Clear vacant areas of the plot and apply a two inch layer of well-rotted compost over the surface
- Suppress weed growth on vacant plots by covering the soil with black plastic
- Complete lifting main-crop potatoes this month
Flower garden
- Continue sowing sweet peas under glass
- Lift summer-flowering bulbs such as gladioli and store cool and dry over winter
- Lift cannas and dahlias after frosts blacken the foliage and store cool and frost free over winter
- Lily bulbs may be potted up or planted in the border this month
- Cut back herbaceous perennials as they die back, leaving 15cm (6in) of old stem on penstemon and others
requiring some winter protection
- Plant out wallflowers, polyanthus and other hardy, spring bedding plants now
- Take hardwood cuttings of roses and other deciduous shrubs
- Prune climbing roses
- It is now too late to prune deciduous magnolias, Prunus species and conifer hedges
- Check tree-ties and stakes, to prevent damage occurring from strong winds
- Trim back bush roses to reduce their height and the risk of wind-rock over winter
- Shrubs and trees can be moved this month, both deciduous (after leaf-fall) and evergreens
Pest and diseases
- Remove yellowing leaves from plants particularly those under glass to avoid botrytis or grey mould from developing
- Apply grease bands to the trunks of fruit trees as a barrier against winter-moth
- Burn or bin diseased stems and foliage rather than composting them which will spread the disease spores when used.
- Dispose of fallen apples and pears with brown rot which can go on to cause blossom wilt in the spring
- Cut back and destroy the foliage of perennials with powdery mildew
- Spray tender plants with insecticide when brought in from summering outside to prevent pests multiplying in the warmer conditions
- Ventilate greenhouses freely on mild sunny days to reduce humidity and risk of fungal diseases
|
Lawn
- To establish new lawn sow seed or lay turf
- Apply biological control, nematodes, against leather jackets and chafer grubs in lawns
- Start autumn lawn treatments including scarifying, aerating, topdressing and re-seeding.
- Increase moving height
Glasshouse & indoor plants
- Insulate with bubble wrap before bringing in plants summering outside
- Remove greenhouse shading to maximise the available daylight
- Bring tender plants such as citrus into the greenhouse before frosts occur
- Ensure the greenhouse heating is in working order and overhaul where necessary
- Reduce watering of houseplants when grown in cool temperatures
- Feeding should be reduced or stopped completely as growth slows
- Dry off tuberous begonias and store cool and dry.
Ponds and wildlife
- Refill birdfeeders regularly as hungry birds become reliant on food provided.
- Leave grasses uncut, as insects will hibernate at the base of the stems
- Install insect hotels and log piles where space allows for overwintering insects to hibernate
- Remove excess pond weed from ponds now that amphibians and fish have stopped breeding
- Net ponds to keep falling leaves from trees and shrubs from polluting the water
- Reduce the food given to fish as temperatures fall and they become more torpid
- Remove pond pumps and store dry after cleaning for the winter
- Prevent toxic gases building up as a result of the water surface freezing, by installing a cheap electric pond heater