Early Autumn
Although there are loads of jobs to do in early Autumn, we breathe a sigh of great relief as the relentless summer veg and fruit work, not to mention weeding, slow down a bit. The sweet, gentle afternoons and crisp mornings lend themselves to pottering. The weeds still appear in this temperate (and currently very damp) climate but there is less pressure.
I delay bulb planting until November as it is better to plant tulips then and I like to do such jobs until I can undertake them in a block.
For now, it’s tidying up and nurturing the winter salads. Most of the winter veg is in, now, with a few small beds needing additions of our chard and beetroot seedlings and some late-sown kale that is looking surprisingly robust.
Jobs for October:
Pot on salads
Last sowings of herbs and salads under cover. With the days shortening, light becomes a problem for us here in W Scotland, so however well the seeds germinate, it’s establishing some growth before things get colder and darker.
Prune summer fruiting raspberry canes – always late to the party with this one
Sowing of hardy annuals. We do ours indoors as outdoors tends not to work so well, here and at the moment, with the ground so soggy, it’s not a good idea.
Plan bed rotation. This a nice indoor activity. I usually make several attempts on this for autumn and summer planting. Here’s the latest [link]
Plant autumn planting garlic, onions and shallots. For my money, these are always much more successful than the spring planted variety. At the moment, the soil is way too wet, so I’m hoping for late October to be drier.
Whether you are new to gardening or not, take note of day length, soil temperature and so on at this time. Advice, including mine, on what to sow and grow might not be suitable for your area. If you have hens, see when they go to roost and when it’s light enough to let them out. That’s always the key for me. When they are off to the house for the night, I know I have about 40 minutes more light, if it’s a good day. That tells me how much light plants will be getting. I also have a soil thermometer which is excellent for gauging soil temp on our exposed and cold veg site. The kitchen garden is a little more protected by the hedge.
Prune shrubs after flowering. We are actually being more systemic about it this year. We are removing a third of the old wood, as well as getting stuck into the chaenomeles (Japanese Quince) which we have let run away on us a bit. It needed a decent chop last year but it wasn’t done. Good lesson. The plants are in an elevated flower bed that we are renovating. It’s supported by a dry stone wall that needs attention, so winter will be renovation time. Living where we do, with fields around us, grass/pasture is a real problem as it invades the beds via runners and we spend most of the summer pulling them up every year. This bed seems particularly prone to it, so we are removing as many perennials as possible and weeding, weeding, weeding for six months with no new planting until next autumn. The alternative is blanket herbicide which is not an option. It’s not the doggedness I mind about renovating this bed but the time. It will be worth it but the main work will occur just when the veg and fruit are at their most demanding.
We are also trying again to add more species to our ‘wildflower/wildlife circle in the top lawn. I’m hoping that some of the species we plant there will thrive. After fifteen years of experimenting, we continue to see what species grow best. The bees are never short of flowers to visit but if we can enhance the diversity, all the better and not just for the bees.