Gardening in September

The days become obviously shorter in Setember but although temperatures are on the whole cooler, there are frequently, warm and sunny days. Gusty winds can also be a problem.  September is often a dry month although sudden downpours heavy can be a feature. Towards the end of the month the feel of autumn is in the air.

Planting and sowing:

• Dig up any remaining potatoes and discard any diseased or damaged tubers
• Begin to hravest apples when they are ripe
• Pick plums
• Regularly pick French beans, runner beans, courgettes, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes
• Lift onions and shallots once the foliage has started to die back. If the weather is dry enough leave the bulbs to dry on the surface of the soil. If the weather is wet take them into a dry shed or greenhouse or other suitable location under cover. They should be well ventilated. If any bulbs have devloped thick stems use these first as they will not store well.
• Harvest sweetcorn as it becomes ripe an indication of this is when the tassels turn brown and begin to shrivel.
• Harvest lettuce & salad leaves
• Keep picking any blackberries, autumn fruiting raspberries and maybe strawberries. (Try growing alpine strawberries which fruit until the first frosts).

Jobs:

• Water in dry conditions especially things that are newly planted or containers - windy weather is also very drying.
• Weed where necessary - Make sure areas around fruit is weed free

• Cover brassicas with netting to protect from birds
• For summer fruiting raspberries cut out any canes that have fruited this year. Make sure that you prune autumn and summer fruiting raspberries correctly as they need different treatment.
• Remove any rotting or diseased apples or pears
• Remove straw mulch from strawberries
• Prune out any diseased parts of fruit trees but don't prune stone fruits once the leaves start to fall.
• Keep a watch for blight on potatoes and tomatoes.
• Look out for pests on fruit bushes and trees
• Build a compost bin
• If you are starting a new plot click here
• Send for seed catalogues or browse seed company sites on the Internet.
• Place glue bands around apple and pear trees to defend against crawling insects. 
• Take cuttings or hardwood herbs such as rosemary and lavender
• Starting a new plot click here
• Feed fruit especially those in containers

 
Wildlife:

• Make a hedgehog home or pile up leaves where hedgehogs can over-winter.
• Make a frog or toad box
• If possible leave flower seed heads especially of plants loved by wildlife such as sunflowers and berries
• Feed the birds - you may want to design some bird feeders.
• Keep bird baths clean and feeders topped up.
• Make a log-pile or bee box or other insect home.

Click here for advice on choosing children's gardening tools and make sure you have all the equipment that you need for this months work.

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