It's Autumn

It's autumn

It's Officially Autumn 2015

It's now Autumn and it is still nice and sunny! What's going on? The lovely warm summer of 2014 will soon be a distant memory, but it has been nice to have a good British summer.

All the kids are now back at school and all the uniforms are now out of stock having been replaced with stuff for Halloween and dare I say it Christmas 2014!!

Time to clean up the Garden

Well with this lovely weather we are having you can still get into the garden. Jobs to do before the weather turns.

Jobs to do in the garden in September

There is still life left in your hanging baskets so don't forget to carry on dead heading and feeding your baskets.
Now is the time to sow hardy annuals for a nice big plant display next year.
Dig up and divide herbaceous perennials as the weather starts to cool down. Make sure you remember to water well.
Plant Hyacinths and Amaryllis bulbs for forcing. This will give you amazing blooms in time for Christmas 2014 and they make a great cheap Christmas present.
Now is the time also to plant out Daffodils, Crocus bulbs for a Spring 2015 flowering display.
Now is the time to get pruning your climbing and rambling Roses.
Time to clean out and sanitise the Greenhouse so it does not harbour disease or pests over winter. As it get cooler remeber to close the vents and doors on your Greenhouse.
It is also a good time to look at your lawn, remove any weeds and moss and sow new seed so the lawn looks great for Spring 2015. Also don't forget to raise the height of the mower blades to leave the grass a bit longer.
Put a net over your pond before the leaves start to fall.
A good job to do with the kids is to make some bug boxes to provide a place for the insects to hibernate.
Order your bare rooted Roses and fruit trees so you are ready to plant out over the coming months.

In the vegetable Garden

Have your grown Sweetcorn this year and you are wondering if it is ready, the best way to tell is to pinch one of the kernels and if it leaks a milky sap its ready to eat.If it's watery then you need to leave it a bit longer.
Time to dig up some of your Potatoes and leave to dry for 2-3 hr before storing them in paper in a dark place
If your growing a Pumpkin for Halloween you need to get it to ripen by cutting off the leaves that are covering the fruit also put a plank of wood or bricks under the fruit to raise it off the floor so it does not go rotten.

Fruit Garden

Cut off the runners on the Strawberry plants and plant them up ready for next year. Clean up all the straw so it does not harbour disease or encourage pests.
Pick any rotting fruit you see on the trees or it will spread and ruin the remaining crop
As the blackberries ripen pick them and use them with the apples to make pies you can freeze for later.
Cut back your summer raspberry canes if you have not already leaving the new young canes for next years crop.

If you are one of the lucky green finger types and have loads of lovely extra fruit and vegetables, you can give some to your local Church for Harvest festival. You can also blanch the vegetables and then freeze them and they will then last until Christmas 2014. Fruit you can make jam, smoothies or even my favourite sorbet!

Make sure you empty all your plant pots and remove old crops into the composter, clean any that are not broken and store them in the shed ready for re-planting.

Dont forget to look over your Cold Frames and Cloches and replace any that are damaged so you are ready for next Spring.