Page 39 - Simply Vegetables Autumn 2024

November
I said last month that it is getting late for sowing most seeds but even now you can still sow broad beans and peas in pots in the greenhouse. I told you the varieties last month.
You can still sow herbs on the kitchen windowsill as I suggested last month.
For the last two months I have mentioned planting onion sets and garlic, but they can still be planted now if not done already. I told you the varieties and suppliers last month.
Rhubarb can also be planted as I have mentioned before and also, congested clumps can be lifted and divided. Prepare the ground properly by forking in some rotted manure or compost. You can also force rhubarb if you want an early crop next year. Dig up a few clumps and leave them for a few weeks on the soil surface to expose them to cold weather. Then box them up into deep boxes or large pots. Keep them somewhere warm and cover them with an upturned bucket to exclude the light.
This is the month to plant tulips. Other bulbs can still be planted but when
writing about planting them for the last two months I said that tulips shouldn’t be planted till November. This is because they suffer from a disease called tulip fire which attacks the foliage if it appears above the ground too early.
This month is the beginning of the dormant season for trees and bushes, and this is the time to plant them bare rooted. You can, of course, buy fruit trees and bushes from garden centres. They will usually be in pots, and these can be planted at any time. If you have ordered any from a specialist supplier, they will be bare rooted, and this is the month they are likely to arrive and they can only be
planted from now till March. If you are planting fruit trees and bushes, prepare the ground by removing weeds and forking in some compost or manure. Dig a hole large enough to take the roots. If it is a tree that you are planting, knock a stake in first. It
is a good idea to mix some compost with the soil you have taken out before you put it back in. Put the tree in the hole and start filling in with the soil, treading it down as you go. Fruit trees and bushes are grafted onto a rootstock. You can see the union
on the tree where the graft has been done. When planting is finished, this union must be at or just above soil level. When you put the tree in the hole, you may have to put some soil back first to get the right depth. When treading the soil round the roots, see that the tree remains at the right depth and doesn’t go deeper.
Chrysanth stools
What I have just said applies not only to fruit trees and bushes but roses and any other trees and shrubs because they can all be planted now.
Bush roses can be pruned any time from now till March. Cut out any dead branches and prune the other branches back by
half to a outward pointing bud to keep the centre of the bush open.
Winter pruning of fruit trees and bushes can also begin now. Apples are classified into two types, spur bearing and tip bearing. Spur bearing apples bear the fruit in short spurs along the branches. Tip bearing types produce fruit at the end of long branches. With spur bearers, prune the side branches to three buds. With tip bearers, prune back any branches that don’t show any fruit buds. Pears are pruned the same as spur bearing apples.
Dahlia tuber dug up and prepared for storing.
Sprouts
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