The temperature has dropped perceptibly and thoughts of the cooler months fill the mind. As we move towards autumn there is plenty to do in the flower and vegetable garden.
Begin the autumn clean-up as plants begin to look tatty and die down. It's much easier to do what you can now than face a huge job later. The extent of the clean up depends on your climate.
In wet and muggy climates as much vegetative material as possible should be removed to lessen to opportunities for disease to take hold. In cooler, drier climates, leaving dead stems creates an attractive winter silhouette and provides a degree of natural protection from severe frosts - you can cut these away in late spring, when new growth is about to emerge and the danger of frost damage has passed. If you live in a climate between these then it depends on the plants, your gardening style and personal taste!
If the garden is wet, try to stay off the soil as this causes compacting, damaging soil structure and reducing the ability to drain, making your garden even soggier! A long plank spreads your weight, raised beds and containers are invaluable in the wet.
Autumn mulching can follow any cleanup - - but make sure the soil is moist before mulching. Start to collect the mulching materials that you will need, as nothing slows the gardening task more than having to down tools and set out in search of compost or mulch
Gently remove snow from shrubs and other plants to prevent broken branches and bushes becoming open at the centre.
In winter you must look after your tools; good gardening equipment is costly and with wetter and colder weather everything gets muddy. Clean and oil tools before you put them away, wipe down wooden handles as well as metal parts. You can beat the spring rush and take the lawnmower in for servicing; as growth slows it won't be needed quite as often over the winter.
Do avoid walking on the soil when it is wet- compacting the soil will damage drainage and make your garden even soggier!
It's catalogue time - order seeds for the new season's flower and vegetable garden
Pick winter crops while still at their best - ready now Brussels sprouts, silver beet, cauliflowers, cabbage, parsnips, winter carrots, and leeks
Asparagus is a vegetable that repays planting over many years. To prepare beds cultivate deeply and add generous amounts of compost. Existing asparagus beds should be cultivated carefully to avoid damaging the crowns that lie just below the surface, add a new layer of mulch.
Sow seeds of broad beans, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, peas, spinach and turnips in the warm north and sheltered regions. Broad beans can be sown; garlic and shallots can be planted in other regions. In cooler districts - nothing!
Undercover Seedlings - cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and lettuce seedlings grown under cover.
Prune kiwifruit and grape vines. Grapes - cut away last year's fruited canes and tie down new canes. Sideshoots will grow from these and fruit next year. Kiwifruit are pruned to just above the top wire on a frame, and the vines trained horizontally, one to each wire or support. Three year old fruiting vines are cut back to a dormant bud near the main cane to renew fruiting laterals.
Black currants should be pruned now. Remove about 25% of the oldest shoots at the base, improving air circulation, reducing congestion in the heart of the bush and encouraging new growth.
Remove secondary growth since summer pruning of trained fruit trees
Check overwintering plants for frost damage, temperatures may fall well below zero in unheated glasshouses. Protect vulnerable plants
In warmer areas continue to mow as needed, but set the blades a little higher
Remove fallen leaves from the lawn. Run over these with the mower or shred and pile these in a corner of the garden to make deep, rich leaf mould compost after 12-18 months.
Scatter any worm casts that have formed.
Lay turf on prepared lawn surfaces.
Begin work to prepare lawns for spring sowing.
Trees delivered from mail order nurseries must be planted as soon as they arrive as roots are trimmed and soil removed to reduce shipping costs.
Check your plant ties - winter winds can break or loosen ties and plants begin to rock in the soil, suffering root damage. Ties that are too tight will chafe and rub causing breaking the bark and allowing entry to disease, or causing branches and stems to break.
Lightly prune autumn flowering sasanqua camellias when they have finished flowering.
Hydrangeas can be pruned back to a pair of fat buds, cut with care or you will remove flowering wood. Never reduce branches by more than a third, and remove a few old woody stems at t the base every year to rejuvenate your bushes.
Protect marginally hardy plants with hessian, bracken or frost cloth in very cold weather.Remove snow by gently shaking the branches before it causes trees to open up or branches to break.
Hedges
Measure and prepare ground for planting new hedges - remember that hedges always grow wider than you could possibly imagine!
Hedge planting can be undertaken from April on
Trim hedges Make sure your tools are cleaned and disinfected to reduce disease spread. Collect and compost the clippings - leaving them is unsightly and easily spreads disease.
