Page 19 - ALG Issue 3 2023

tember, October & November
SCAN HERE TO VIEW A WHOLE YEAR OF MONTHLY JOBS!
FRUIT FLOWERS
GREENHOUSE
• Cooler days mean it is the perfect time to sow the seed of the Oriental vegetables. They will germinate quickly and are hardy enough to withstand the cold of winter and will provide a steady supply of fresh leaves well into the spring of next year.
• Make a sowing of hardy winter lettuce and spinach. There is still time to sow an
early variety of turnip
to be able to use the
tops as greens.
• Harvest apples and pears as they become ready and pick the late season strawberries and raspberries to keep them producing fruit. They will keep cropping right up until the first frost.
• Complete the summer pruning of soft fruit bushes, apple and pear trees. Continue with their training and tying in.
• Wasps are attracted this time of year due to the ripening of your fruit. Hang wasp traps in fruit trees and protect any grapes from wasps with netting or mesh. But also remember that wasps are the gardener’s friend because they are major predators of aphids and caterpillars at this time of the year.
• Leave any sunflower seedheads in place for birds to feed on.
• Fill any gaps with late-flowering perennials, such as sedums, to provide nectar for pollinating insects into autumn.
FRUIT GREENHOUSE
• Continue to harvest apples and pears as they ripen, taking care not to damage or bruise the fruits. Only the best should be set aside for storage.
• Any late grapes should have any leaves that cover the ripening fruit removed to allow in as much light as possible.
• It is the last window for planting new strawberry beds, either from new plants or from runners rooted in the summer.
• Lift a root of rhubarb for early forcing; allow the root to sit on the soil and
be subjected to a few good frosts. The crown will then be much better for forcing, and some sticks may be ready at around Christmas.
• Insulate your greenhouse before using it to protect your more tender plants using horticultural fleece or plastic bubble sheeting; newspaper
is an excellent substitute if you lay several layers over your most precious plants whenever a frost is forecast.
• It is also a good idea to wrap their pots in bubble wrap to insulate their roots.
FLOWERS
• Remove any pot saucers and raise pots up onto feet to prevent waterlogging over winter.
• Empty spent summer pots and hanging baskets, and compost the contents.
GREENHOUSE
• Sow a crop of your favourite variety of round seeded hardy peas in 3” to 3”/9 cm pots and transplanted later when the roots have reached the bottom of the pot.
• Transplant any pot raised broad beans sown earlier somewhere sheltered and protected from cold, icy blasts. It is not too late to take a chance on a sowing of broad beans if it is done early in the month.
• Transplant October sown lettuces to grow on under cloches or frames; space them 6”.15cms square.
FRUIT FLOWERS
• Now is a good time to plant new fruit trees and bushes. Soft fruit bushes can also be moved now if needed as well.
• Autumn-fruiting raspberries bear fruit on new wood, so cut down all of the old canes to the ground once they have finished fruiting, between November and March.
• Takehardwoodcuttingsfromfruit bushes. It is very easy to do and will
give you a decent-sized plant in a few years.
• Plant tulips and hyacinths in pots or in the open ground.
• Sow sweet peas and harden off any that were sown last month. The colder and harder the plants are grown the better; just keep heavy snow and winds from the young plants and don’t pinch out until after Christmas.
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 19
p