Kitchen garden
- Plant onion and shallot sets suitable for overwintering. On heavy, wet soils spring planting may be preferable.
- Continue harvesting apples and pears. Store in cool, well- ventilated place.
- If not done already, prune out fruited canes of summer raspberries and tie in new canes.
- Harvest main crop potatoes. Let the tubers to dry off before storing in jute hessian or paper bags in dark, frost free space.
- Sow winter greens such as land cress, mustard spinach, corn salad (lamb’s lettuce) and also hardy lettuce cultivars including, ‘Winter Density’, ‘Arctic King’ and ‘Valdor’ for spring picking. Ideally protect with cloches once the weather turns cold.
Ornamental garden
- Collect seeds from perennials and dry them off before storing
- Lift and divide clumps of hardy perennials.
- Start planting trees and shrubs towards the end of the month whist the soil is still warm, but the weather turns cooler and moister. If needed move evergreen shrubs.
- Consider layering to propagate deciduous shrubs such as Chaenomeles, Cotinus and Cornus and climbers including Campsis, Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris, Clematis, honeysuckle and Vitis
Pest and disease watch
- Remove fruit affected with brown rot to reduce spread of the infection
- Keep leeks protected with enviromesh or fleece against leaf mining fly and leek moth.
- Gather and dispose of fallen rose leaves affected by black spot. Do not add them to the compost heap
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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
- Remove shading as light levels fall to aid crop ripening
- Plant prepared hyacinth bulbs for Christmas in pots
- Reduce watering of Hippeastrum (amaryllis) to give the bulbs resting period and encourage flowering
- Continue harvesting tomatoes, peppers and aubergines
Pond
- Thin out oxygenating plants. Leave on the side of the pond to allow wildlife to crawl back
- Where possible cover the pond with netting to prevent leaves falling in and rotting in water
- Continue removing blanket weed and duckweed
