Gardening Month By Month: September

The season of mellow fruitfulness is now with us and autumn beckons. There's still plenty to harvest in the plot, but don't overlook the enjoyment of a walk along hedgerows picking the last of the blackberries in the autumn sunshine – they'll be lovely in a crumble alongside your apples!

Sowing

Summer cauliflowers can be sown in pots in a cold frame ready for next year.

A last sowing of lettuce seed can be made outdoors for winter harvesting, but be ready to protect the plants from cold snaps with cloches in the next few months. Catch crops of spinach and radishes can also be made to keep spare beds productive.

Planting out

If you're keen and have the beds available already, the first onion sets can go in this month ready for next year.

Harvesting

Leeks can be pulled now – don't go too mad though as they can stay in the ground right through to spring. Just lift them as you need them.

Any onions or shallots that have not yet been harvested really need lifting this month. If the weather is wet they can be dried off indoors in a shed, conservatory or attic.

Green broccoli flower shoots can be picked this month, as can summer and autumn cabbages, cauliflowers and kale.

Runner beans, French beans and some peas are still in season now.

Beetroot can still be lifted, as can carrots, celeriac, fennel, parsnips, potatoes, turnips and swedes.

Lettuce, chicory and cucumber will be providing salads, and the tomatoes should still be cropping nicely. Perpetual spinach beet, true spinach and chard will also be producing leaves and shouldn't be overloooked.

The apple trees will also being giving up some of their fruit (depending on the variety of the tree(s) you have). If you get a glut of apples you can save the best ones in a cool room in boxes with the apples not touching one another or, if you've got a freezer with room available, why not make a large batch of stewed apple that can then be packed into small boxes and frozen to give a supply for fruit pies throughout the winter and spring?

Other jobs

With autumn here and winter on its way, it’s worth taking a bit of time to tidy up around the plot. Clear any piles of dead plants (burn diseased ones and chop up and compost any others) and rake over any bare soil to expose slugs and grubs that might be considering overwintering to the birds.

If you've got several unused beds, either cover them with layers of cardboard with muck on top, or sow an overwintering green manure such as vetches or grazing rye that can be turned into the soil in the spring. Both of these will help keep the weeds down and improve the organic material content of the soil ready for next year.

By Jim’ll