The days are shortening and that can mean less time in the garden. So, it’s time to prioritise and consider what not to do, as well as what to do.
The first thing to do is sit down with a cuppa and take a long, hard look at what’s actually happening in your garden. Is all that amorphous greenery actually weeds? How did that group of nettles get there? This can give you some basic quick wins: remove the most invasive weeds, and dig out nettles, unless you’re working up a nettle patch for butterflies in the spring.
The second thing to do is have another cup of tea and plan how you’d like the garden to look next year. Are you enjoying it as it is? More importantly, are the plants happy and in the right place? Autumn is a great time to move plants and introduce new ones, while there is still some warmth in the soil, so give it some thought now. This means that your garden centre purchases will be strategic and not random!
What to do with leaves
Beautiful autumnal colours mean that leaves are falling. But there’s no need to sweep them up everywhere. If they have fallen on your vegetable plot or herbaceous border, leave them. Your fellow gardeners, the worms, will spend the winter dragging them underground and improving the friability of your soil.
Leaves on your lawn do need to be raked up so that the grass can photosynthesise. Use a rake, not a blower, so that the small bugs and creatures who share your garden, can survive.
If you can, create an area for leaves to rot down. This will give you leaf mould to enrich your garden in a couple of years’ time, and potentially create a winter hideaway for hedgehogs and ladybirds.
It’s time to plant bulbs
The gardening year isn’t linear. We are always thinking ahead, which is why it’s such a wonderful, spirit-raising, act of hope. So, it’s now time to buy and plant bulbs. I spend more hours looking at bulb catalogues and cooing over the potential colours than I do actually planting bulbs, but never mind.
This year, I’m just planting a few in pots on the patio, but I know it will give me real pleasure in the early spring.
Garlic is also being planted this week. If you don’t normally grow vegetables, you could try your hand with garlic. It’s best to buy from garden centres and nurseries, as supermarket stock can sometimes be treated so that it doesn’t sprout.
I’ve planted two bulbs, which turned out to be 18 cloves. It took about 10 minutes and will hopefully yield 18 bulbs of garlic next summer. These do need to go in the ground, rather than in pots, but it’s an easy job, and if you like garlic in your food it’s worth the effort.
It’s been a bumper year for apples and tomatoes. There’s still time to turn green tomatoes red by placing them on a sunny indoor windowsill. Apples can be stored over the winter, or, if you’re already tired of crumble, why not see if there’s a fruit press in your local area and turn your remaining apples into juice? It’ll give you a taste of summer through the winter months.