Gardeners Calendar for september

Harvest

There should be plenty of produce in the garden for harvest, with top fruit and soft fruit both coming into play as well as the start of the autumn veg.  A good rule is to pick runner beans,  and tomatoes quite hard to prolong the season.  other top fruit and soft should be picked as required at this stage, although early fruiters shuch as Discovery will be almost over.

There is plenty to do in the garden now, as this is one of the best times of year to plan and begin preperation for new borders and flower beds, other features need to be thought about as well, such as ponds and vegetable beds for the following season.

Plants

September is a good time to start looking at gaps in the garden, before leaves start to fall off deciduous plants, and perrenials die down.  If plants are ordered now there will be time to consider their final resting place. October is a better time to plant most trees and shrubs, although if the soil is moist enough september is good for early establishment.

Have a look at our new product 'BorderinaBox'. It’s a collection of plants together with a planting plan that takes the hard work out of designing a new border or revamping an old one.  If further advice is required, then photos could be taken and sent to contact@greenwheelbarrow.com

It's a good time to spray weeds in borders that are overgrown, and in areas where new  beds are required while the weather is still warm enough for spray to be active ( glyphosate spray can take up to six weeks to finish ) which will give time to plant in the autumn.  

Existing Plants

For Existing plants it's still worth maintaining them with tasks such as deadheading ( especially on roses) pruning and crown lifting on trees in lawns.  This will help to reduce pest and disease risk, although september is a good month to spray against any potential overwintering threat.

Perrenials should have any dead heads removed, and dead stems cut down.  If beds are weed free it's  a good time to start mulchng, either with shreddings from garden rubbish, compost, or bagged products.

Annuals should be dug out or tender perrenials eg pelargoniums removed and saved in the greenhouse, and can be replaced with spring bedding plants such as primula, stocks, or wallflowers.

Lawns

You can attack the lawn now as well. The damper conditions will encourage moss to grow  which can leave you with a patchy lawn. It is possible to use a wire rake, but better results are achievedfrom an electric or petrol scarifier which can easily be hired.

Hollow  tine the lawn from now  through to the end of autumn, rake up spoils and apply a sandy/soil top dressing mix.

An autumn feed can be applied now as well. Pick up and compost leaves as they beginto fall. And gradually raise the height of the cut on your mower, which will help during frosty conditions.

Greenhouse

Reduce watering during september, as overdamp conditions will encourage mildew  buid up.  Remove any shading to maximise the light during the coming months.  Continue liquid feeding of tomatoes and other greenhouse crops, these should fruit into October if the weather stays mild.

General 

Continue to weed and tidy the garden. Remove weeds and algae from  paths using chemicals or a good stiff brush. Weed and tidy the edges of the borders.

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Shrubs to plant now :-

                                                                           

  Lonicera fragrantissima     Chaenomelesx superba 'Crimson & Gold'     Aucuba japonica 'Crotonifolia'         Mahonia aquifolium  

   Clck on any of the pictures to go to the relevant catalogue page

   See you next month!

Judith