Using autumn to prepare for next years spring and summer harvest gives you a head start before the colder months, and ensures you a full and bountiful garden or allotment for the seasons ahead.
Here are a few tasks you can be doing in the garden this autumn…
Spring bulbs
Now is the time to get planting spring-flowering bulbs when the ground has cooled down slightly.
Tidy up beds & borders
Remove weeds, dying plants, and fallen leaves and re-store the soil by covering with compost which will then settle over winter.
Be sure to leave any attractive seeds heads for birds, as this makes for a great meal over the colder months.
Raising pots off the ground
As the weather begins to get colder, its a good idea to raise your garden pots off the ground, or moving them into a sheltered spot. This allows for good drainage in cold conditions, and also reduces the risk on your pots cracking.
Deadheading
Deadheading helps to prolong and encourage flowering, keep your plants happy, and prevents them from setting seed.
You can do this easily by pinching off the faded blooms with your finger and thumb, or using a sharp pair of secateurs or scissors and cutting at an angle.
Planting
Now is the right time to be planning next years harvests; organise, purchase and sow new varieties of vegetables and plants for next year.
Organise your greenhouse
If you have a greenhouse, use this time to tidy and organise for the following harvest; clear away old pots and plants, and sow new varieties.
Winter bedding
Violas, Pansies and Cyclamen to name a few, are great to be planting now.
Rose maintenance
Prune and tie in your roses, cutting off any old blooms.
