This is one of those times of year when we can start to slow down and change pace in the garden, ready for a new season. The days are getting shorter, but it’s still mild enough for seeds to germinate before the cold weather sets in.
This is what to do in your garden in September keep everything growing nicely:
Sow grass seed where there are thin patches of grass, gently loosen the soil, scatter over the seed, lightly rake the soil to cover the seed and water it.
Dead-head dahlias to keep them flowering.
Trim hedges for the last time this year, isn’t that a nice thought.
Sow seeds of: Calendula (English marigolds)
Cornflowers
Nigella (love-in-a-mist)
Larkspur
Eschscholzia (Californian poppy)
Scabiosa
the plants will be bigger and flower earlier than those planted in spring. It’s a good idea to sow them in spring as well to get a nice succession of flowers.
Order spring flowering bulbs for planting towards the end of the month.
Vegetables:
Plant overwintering (rather than main-crop ones) onions.
Sow varieties of winter lettuce, lambs lettuce is a good one because it’s happy growing in less light.
Cut fruited canes of summer flowering raspberries to the ground.
Harvest the last of the onions and store them in a cool dry place before you store them.
Trim off a few leaves from pumpkins and winter squash to let the sun get to the fruit, they need to bask in the sun to let the skin harden before they’re picked.
Here’s an earlier post all about planting spring flowering bulbs.
You’ll be so pleased with yourself next spring when the bulbs appear and you have early flowers.
Happy gardening
Jill
all images: Jill Anderson.
