What to do in the garden in September

Are you wondering how to make the most of your garden this September? Look no further! We've got a comprehensive guide to help you maximize your garden's productivity and ensure it thrives throughout the autumn and beyond.

Vegetable Garden Tips for September

1. Harvest and Preserve: Continue harvesting your bountiful crops, and if you find yourself with an abundance of fruits and veggies, consider pickling, drying, or freezing them for year-round enjoyment.

2. Sow New Crops: Plant lettuces like 'Dandie' and 'Kwiek' in frames, along with New Zealand spinach in open ground areas.

3. Pot Up Herbs: Pot up parsley and mint so you can enjoy their fresh flavors in your kitchen throughout the winter.

4. Indoor Chives: Bring chives indoors by potting them up.

5. Potato Care: As you prepare to harvest main crop potatoes, cut off or pull the foliage at ground level three weeks before lifting them. This helps prevent blight and enhances potato skin firmness.

6. Proper Potato Storage: Allow newly dug potatoes to dry for a few hours before storing them in a cool, dark place using hessian or paper sacks. Ensure that only healthy, disease-free tubers are stored to protect your entire crop.

7. Celery Care: Keep earthing up celery to the base of the leafy part, and use newspaper and string to keep soil out of the heart of the plant.

8. Runner Beans: Keep feeding, watering, and picking runner beans to encourage further development, using Ecoworm Soil Extract for optimal nutrition.

9. Tomato Tips: Pinch out the tips of outdoor tomatoes to promote fruit ripening.

10. Protect Tender Plants: Use cloches to shield peas, French beans, and tomatoes that are still maturing.

11. Pepper Protection: Lift outdoor peppers slightly out of the ground to prevent stem breakage. Unripened peppers can be left on the plant and hung upside down in a cool, dry place for further ripening.

12. Brassica Nets: Cover your brassicas with nets to safeguard them from hungry birds.

13. Sweetcorn Harvest: Harvest sweetcorn when a kernel releases a milky sap upon pinching. Adjust harvest time accordingly to avoid under- or over-ripened kernels.

14. Endive, Celery, and Leeks: Continue blanching endive, celery, and leeks for optimal flavor and texture.

15. Elevate Pumpkins and Squashes: Prevent rotting by placing pumpkins and squashes on a piece of wood or slate.

16. Pumpkin Ripening: Remove shading leaves from pumpkins to aid in ripening for Halloween.

17. Pea and Bean Plant Care: Cut pea and bean plants to ground level after harvesting, leaving the roots to decompose and release nitrogen into the soil.

Fruit Garden Tips for September

1. Fruit Harvesting: Continue harvesting fruits as they ripen, preferably during dry weather to avoid disease.

2. Protect Berries: Cover autumn raspberries and perpetual strawberries during cold, wet nights using polytene sheeting, cloths, or tunnels.

3. Strawberry Maintenance: Tidy up strawberries by removing used straw to deter pests and diseases over the winter.

4. Propagate Strawberries: Pot up strawberry runners to create additional plants for the next year.

5. Tree Care: Install grease bands around fruit trees to protect them.

6. Berry Pruning: Prune remaining summer raspberries, blackberries, and hybrid cane fruits once they finish fruiting.

7. Blackberry Harvest: Pick blackberries as they ripen for immediate use or freeze them for later enjoyment.

8. Stone Fruit Picking: Harvest plums, peaches, and figs frequently to prevent spoilage due to cooling weather.

9. Fruit Tree Hygiene: Remove rotting fruits from pear, apple, and plum trees to prevent disease spread.

10. Fig Thinning: Thin figs for healthier growth.

11. Plum Preservation: Freeze excess plums by washing, halving, and laying them on a tray before packing into freezer bags.

12. Apple and Pear Storage: Pick apples and pears for storage, choosing only completely healthy fruits. Store them in a dark, consistently cool location, avoiding wooden sheds with fluctuating temperatures.

13. Pruning and Training: Finish pruning and training fan-trained peaches and nectarines, and continue plum pruning as needed.

14. Stock Expansion: Take hard cuttings of gooseberries, currants, and figs to expand your plant stock.

Lawn Care in September

1. Adjust Mowing Frequency: Mow less frequently and raise the blade height as grass growth slows.

2. Autumn Lawn Feed: Provide your lawn with an autumn feed, such as Ecoworm Soil Extract for Lawns, following scarification and aeration but before applying top dressing.

3. Lawn Repair: Repair patchy areas and establish new lawns with turf or seed, taking advantage of September's ideal conditions for seedling growth.

4. Pest Management: Address lawn pests and other issues promptly.

Trees & Shrubs Care for September

1. Rose Maintenance: Continue spraying roses to prevent mildew and black spot.

2. Planting Opportunity: Plant evergreens and conifers, as September offers optimal conditions for root growth and establishment.

3. Pruning Roses: Prune rambling roses and weeping standards for healthy growth.

4. New Plantings: Plant trees, shrubs, or herbaceous plants raised from seed, making the most of September's favorable conditions.

5. Watering Needs: Keep plants adequately watered as required.

Flower Garden Tips for September

1. Container Plant Care: Continue feeding and deadheading hanging baskets and container plants using Ecoworm Soil Extract for Flowers to prolong their blooming until the first frost.

2. Perennial Planting: Plant new perennials towards the end of September, capitalizing on the warm soil and higher moisture levels.

3. Seed Collection: Collect and store seeds from perennials with seed heads, and bring tender perennials like fuchsias, gazanias, lantanas, and abutilons indoors before the frost arrives.

4. Lily Planting: Plant lilies both outdoors and in pots.

5. Tender Perennial Propagation: Take cuttings of tender perennials, such as Pelargonium and Osteospermum, for healthier growth.

6. Camellia and Rhododendron Care: Continue watering camellias and rhododendrons to promote well-developed buds for the following year.

7. Winter Bulbs: Ensure gladioli, freesias, and dahlias are not left in the ground during winter, as they may be susceptible to cold weather and pests.

8. Deadheading: Deadhead plants like delphiniums, penstemons, dahlias, and roses to encourage continuous flowering.

9. Divide Overgrown Plants: Divide overgrown alpines and herbaceous perennials, providing them with renewed vigor and improved flowering in the coming year.

With these September gardening tips, your garden will thrive throughout the autumn season and beyond, ensuring a bountiful harvest and vibrant blooms. Happy gardening!