September is the month to enjoy the fruits if your labours. A lot of your product will be ready to harvest this month, but it’s also time to start thinking about preparing for the frost and planning for next year.
General
- Complete pruning of soft fruit bushes – apple and pear trees, in particular, will benefit from this
- Sow green manure, such as grazing rye – suppresses weeds over the winter
- Feed all late crops with a general fertiliser – do this now for great crops when the time comes
- Dig up and compost any plants that have finished their season – ensure you have great soil for next years planting
- Cut back old canes of blackberries – do this after fruiting and tie in the new canes
Harvesting
- Beetroot
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Cauliflowers
- Courgettes
- Globe Artichokes
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Lettuce
- Leeks
- Marrows
- medlars
- Onions
- Pumpkins
- Radishes
- Spring Onions
- quince
- Spinach
- Sweetcorn
- Turnips
Sowing
- Alfalfa
- Beansprouts
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Fenugreek
- Radish
- Red onion
- Spinach
- Spring cabbage
- Crimson clover and Italian ryegrass – they act as ground cover during the winter. When dug in, they conserve nutrients and improve soil texture.
Pests and Diseases
- Watch tomatoes for blossom end rot, and other ripening problems. These are usually caused by irregular watering
- Wasps are attracted this time of year due to the ripening of your fruit. protect any grapes or fruit from wasps with netting or mesh.
