The weather is getting colder and Bonfire night is on its way. Now autumn is slowly turning into winter, it’s time to prepare your garden for the colder months and sow the seeds for the summer. So we have put together a list of November gardening jobs to help you make the most of the last of the harvest season.
General
- Create a compost heap– fallen leaves and dead plant material can make great compost, so make sure to set up a compost heap or bin if you haven’t already
- Collect fallen leaves– keep your garden looking tidy and keep any fungal spores, slugs, and snails at bay
- Revamp your fencing– now the foliage is dormant, it’s a great time to inspect your fencing. We have a wide range of traditional and contemporary fencing if it’s time to replace
- Prepare a bonfire– with Bonfire Night approaching, prepare a space in your garden to create a bonfire and start collecting logs. A fire pit makes a striking focal point, and a log store provides a ready supply of logs
Plants
- Protect from the frost– standard terracotta planters often break in cold weather, so consider our frost-resistant fibrecotta. For plants in flower beds, a cold frame or cloche fleece provides instant protection
- Raise plant containers– raise pots off the ground for the winter using bricks or pot feet to prevent them from becoming waterlogged
- Prune rose bushes- prevent wind rock (swaying in the wind and the roots becoming loose) by pruning roses by one third to half their height
- Cut back herbaceous perennials– cut back the yellowing foliage of any flowering plants, then life and divide any overcrowded clumps
- Plant tulip bulbs– tulip bulbs to bloom in spring next year are best planted in late autumn to prevent the tulip fire disease
- Move dormant plants– if you need to relocate any plants or fruit trees, now is the time to do so while they are dormant
Produce
- Harvest parsnips– now is the perfect time to harvest any parsnips, as their flavour will have sweetened
- Spread manure across the vegetable beds– this will rot down over the winter
- Plant bare-root trees– bare root refers to trees dug and sold while they are dormant. They are sold during autumn-winter, so shop and plant any fruit you want to grow next summer
- Prevent moth damage– protect fruit trees from winter moth caterpillars by placing grease bands around the trunks
Greenhouse
- Stock up on greenhouse accessories– now you’ll be spending more time in your greenhouse, make sure to stock up on accessories, including a heater to maintain the temperature and staging to hold your plants
- Install solar lights– now the evenings are getting darker, install some solar lights so you can check on your plants during the winter evenings
- Propagate perennials– grow new perennials including verbascum, phlox, and oriental poppies by taking root cuttings
- Sow winter herbs– sow Mediterranean herbs such as thyme, sage, and parsley for a fresh supply during the winter
Animals
- Encourage feathered guests– birds can bring life to your garden and help keep pest numbers down, so make sure to welcome them with a bird feeder and a birdbath
- Clean out nest boxes– if your nest box has been used over the summer, take the time to clean it out to reduce the risk of bird parasites
- Place a net over any ponds– use a pond net to prevent any leaves falling in and keep predators at bay
- Create a hibernation habitat– around this time, wildlife such as hedgehogs will be hibernation for the winter, so make sure to offer them a safe refuge with one of our hedgehog houses
November gardening jobs can see you doing all sorts but be sure to keep yourself warm! As the weather turns colder, you can also check out our range of heated gloves and clothing to keep things toasty as you tend to your garden!
Let us know what you’re up to in your garden this month on Twitter or Instagram!
Alice works in the Primrose copywriting team. She spends her days here writing gardening product descriptions and cracking blog posts.
Outside work, Alice is writing a fiction novel and runs her own blog. She also enjoys travel, good food, and tarot reading.
Alice works in the Primrose copywriting team. She spends her days here writing gardening product descriptions and cracking blog posts.
Gary works in the Primrose product loading team, writing product descriptions and other copy. With seven years as a professional chef under his belt, he can usually be found experimenting in the kitchen or sat reading a book.
Ruby Clarkson is a freelance writer who has a passion for all things gardening. When she isn’t outside planting flowers or digging up weeds, she is wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of tea and a book.
George works in the