Page 36 - The Local Eye - Issue 131 - September 2016

36

There is no beating the taste of truly fresh
fruit and veg especially, when it’s yours!
Gardening Tips for September
September again. Cooler nights, water condensing on the inside of the greenhouse. Many varieties of
vegetables and fruit are now harvested. It is time now to cut back on watering and feeding.
Keep picking beans, dig up any remaining potatoes, dry off your onions in readiness for storage. If you
have any Autumn Raspberries, pick them now and relish in their captured sunshine.
Keep dead heading your fl ower bed to prolong their pleasure. The same goes for hanging baskets, see
how long you can keep them going for.
You can prune any late fl owering shrubs, evergreen hedges and the Roses once they have fi nished
fl owering.
If you like spring bulbs, then now is the time to set them where you want them
to grow. Good luck, we brought some back from Holland last year. We planted
them with a light sandy compost and waited for a total failure this year. Some
you win!
If you want to continue with salads, now is the time to sow your winter
varieties, Rocket, Lettuce, Spinach and Chicory. They should all do well in an
unheated greenhouse or a sheltered spot elsewhere.
September is a good time to feed and repair any lawn damage that has
occurred over the summer. If there are any persistent weeds now is the latest
you can safely apply a lawn weed killer.
Gardening Tips for October
Here we are again at the end of what hopefully was a good growing season in your garden or allotment.
Of course there are the perennial questions just like weeds of why did something we grew the previous
year has done so much better or worse this year? Sorry, you won’t get any answers here but my wife
keeps a garden diary and this does identify circumstances that can be used to blame something or other
on the result.
I am writing this in early August having just tied up the Onions and Garlic and it is in October that you
should be planting next year’s crop of Garlic phew!
Here are some top jobs to do in October.
1. Plant your Garlic in soil that has been treated with well-rotted compost.
2. Cut back perennials that have died down. Summer Show
3. Cut fruited Raspberry canes to ground level. Scarecrow Winner
4. Divide herbaceous perennials and Rhubarb crowns.
5. Lift Gladioli corms and Dahlia tubers for winter storage in a dry,
dark, airy place.
6. Clean the glass and disinfect the greenhouse, ‘Jeyes’ Fluid is excellent
for this job. You might want to use a smoke bomb to eradicate pests.
7. Dead head climbing Roses and prune fl owered stems by 1/3 and no
more than ½ to encourage new growth.
8. Apply an Autumn feed to your lawn. If moss is a problem then use a
product with added moss killer.
9. After soaking and the seeds have chitted. Sow the Sweet Peas for next
year in an unheated greenhouse.
10. Refi ll and maintain a regular supply to your Wild Bird feeders.

North Bournemouth Allotment Society, Cornelia Road, BH10 4FG
www.northbournemouthallotmentsociety.co.uk

To advertise <> 08000 430485 <> email: info@thelocaleye.com <> www.thelocaleye.com

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