Collect seeds from summer-flowering plants for planting next year. Or with beautiful seed heads such as alliums, cut off from the plant whole, dry and spray paint in silvers or golds for glorious Christmas decorations. It's also a good idea to leave some seeds in situ in the garden for hungry birds.
Plant out the hardy annuals you've been bringing on inside and any biennials still not placed.
Sow your sweet seeds now, to ensure larger, more robust and earlier flowering plants next spring.
Save seed from your favourite plants – it is easy to do and will provide you with plenty of plants to fill gaps or make an existing scheme have more impact. Leave a few seed heads on your plants after they've finished flowering to allow the seeds to ripen, then collect them and store in paper bags in a cool dry place until you are ready to sow them.
Dig up any scented-leaf pelargoniums still outside and pot them up as winter houseplants. Most will remain happily on a sunny window ledge for much of the winter, to be cut back early next spring.
bulbs & tubers
You can continue to plant spring bulbs in the still-warm ground, to give them the longest possible growing time ahead of next year.
Alliums are also happiest planted while the soil is still a little warm in early-mid Autumn, in contrast to tulips, which benefit from going into the ground when the temperature has dropped (when the diseases and fungus that they are prone to during the warmer months have died off).
Plant peonies this month as well, and established peony plants should be pruned shortly after the first frost.
Brighten up shady bits of your garden with spring-flowering, shade-tolerant bulbs.
If we have early frosts, remove dahlia and gladiolus bulbs and tubers from the ground, cutting back their stems to approx 5cm from the roots first. Leave the bulbs somewhere warm and dry for a couple of days. Sprinkling with yellow sulphur powder is a good idea, particularly on any damaged tubers. Then store in dry compost in a box lined with newspaper, or in a pot, somewhere warm and dry, until spring. Alternatively, mulch your dahlias in late autumn under several inches of mushroom compost or similar and just clear this away once the worst of the frosts are over in the spring.
Lift and divide large clumps of crocosmia, and replant into freshly prepared soil. If you have any spring bulbs in storage that you lifted earlier in the year, now’s the time to check them over before replanting. Dispose of any that are showing obvious signs of rot, or that feel soft to the touch.
This is a good moment to create your winter ornamental tubs, too. Plant a tall and stately Tulips such as the scented 'Ballerina',
Pot up roots of Lily of the valley to provide fragrant winter flowers. Any spent compost from containers of summer bedding can be spread around the borders to use as a mulch.
Plant new Amaryllis to give you beautiful flowers for winter and early spring. Plant them firmly, cramming the soil around the bulb. Amaryllis like their soil rich, but exceptionally well drained.
Plant some mini iris for pots inside, cramming them into pots with the bulbs almost touching. Planted now, they will be in flower in February when forced on a sunny windowsill.
harvesting
Lovely things to pick and arrange from your garden in October:
Hardy annuals: late-flowering varieties, Euphorbia oblongata, sunflowers and scabious
Half-hardy annuals: long-flowering varieties, eg. cosmos, cleome, nicotiana and moluccella, and some from second sowing, eg. amaranthus, antirrhinums, tithonias and zinnias
Tender perennials: chrysanthemums and dahlias
Perennials: rudbeckias and nerines
Shrubs and trees: hydrangeas, spindle (Euonymus alatus) and autumn leaves
pruning & tidying
Continue deadheading.
Keep weeding. Perennial weeds may pull out easily now, but make sure that you don't leave any of the root to overwinter!
Bring tender plants, eg. pelargoniums, in out of the frost and begin to cut them back.
Divide and replant overcrowded spring and summer flowering perennials, such as geraniums.
Lift, divide and replant congested clumps of perennials. Use two garden forks back to back to split larger clumps.
Remove plant supports and store away.
Prune climbing roses and rambling roses once they've finished flowering and tie in the stems before autumn winds cause damage. Cut back any dead, diseased or damaged branches to the ground or a healthy bud. Cut side shoots back by about two-thirds to a outward facing bud, and tie in horizontally to encourage flowering shoots. Collect fallen leaves from under rose bushes so they don't carry diseases over to next year.
Prune tall summer flowering shrubs such as Buddleia to about half their height in order to prevent damage by winter winds and to tidy their appearance. Remove suckers growing around the base of trees.
Prepare the ground for any bare-rooted stock coming next month.
vegetables
Peas and beans that have gone over can be cut down to ground level, and their roots left in the soil to be dug over – they then break down and return vital nitrogen to the earth. You can also sow broad beans this month for good early pickings in May and June next year.
Cut back Jerusalem artichokes and asparagus to ground level. After cutting the asparagus ferns, carefully weed the bed and cover with a layer of mulch or manure. You can then mulch with grit over the top and scatter a handful of granular dishwasher salt, which acts as a weedkiller. The saline environment kills annual weed seedlings, whereas asparagus – as a seashore plant – is fine.
Cut down the dying tops of other perennial vegetables .
Dig over veg beds as their contents go over. Cold weather can often help to break down any large clods of soil in to smaller, more free draining particles, ready for the next sowing.
Cover any productive salad plants with cloches to protect from the frosts.
Earth up leeks to cover and blanch their stems.
Early-maturing varieties of peas can be sown outside now – cover emerging seedlings with cloches to protect from birds.
Make sure Brussels sprouts are firm in the ground as wind-rock breaks the tiny hairs on the roots that take in the nutrients. Earthing up a few inches around the stems and treading in or staking will keep them secure. If you haven't already done so, net your brassicas as they will be under attack as other food becomes scarce.
Florence fennel is one of the best autumn and winter crops, but will get damaged in a hard frost, so fleece or cloche it now to harvest straight from the garden. Mound up a little around the base of the bulb before covering to increase the size of the swollen part and help prevent bolting.
Remove yellowing leaves from Brussels Sprouts plants and other brassicas to prevent the spread of disease and dispose of them.
A warm autumnal day is the perfect time to add manure to your potato patch. On thin soils – chalk and sand – double dig, adding manure to the base of a trench before turning the soil of the next trench over that manure. On improved heavy clay soil, spread the manure and tease it in with a fork.
salad & herbs
Cover any productive salad plants with cloches to protect from the frosts doorstep or windowsill.
Sow winter herbsand salad in containers. Get a decent sized (at least 8in (20cm) deep) box or crate. Knock several drainage holes in the bottom, fill with compost and sow your salad. Cover the boxes with cling film to enclose the moisture and put them somewhere warm to germinate.
Hardy herbs can be planted out in guttering in a south-facing spot.
Pot up less hardy herbs such as parsley, chives and French tarragon and bring inside into a sunny, frost-free spot.
Cut back stems of oregano and marjoram that have flowered, to just above ground level.
Cover tender herbs with a cloche and pot up some, eg mint, chives and parsley, to keep on a bright window sill.
fruit
Plant new soft fruit canes.
As soon as you’ve finished picking this year’s blackberries, the old fruited canes can be pruned out to make space for next year’s to develop. Cut back all the stems that have produced blackberries this year to ground level and tie in new growth. Leave autumn fruiting raspberries until later in the winter.
Move citrus trees indoors to a frost-free position away from radiators or draughts.
Plant a fruit tree – an apple or pear. Dig a hole twice the size of the root ball and break up the base, adding plenty of organic matter (leaf mould or manure). Plant the tree to the same level as it was previously. As with roses, this ensures the graft is below soil level. If you have no more space for a fruit tree in the ground, plant one in a pot. Use a 37-litre filled with John Innes No 3, mixed with about a third of tree or shrub compost and some Osmocote (or other slow-release fertiliser), with plenty of crocks in the bottom.
harvesting
Here's what you could be picking and eating this time next year or, if you're an old hand, already are:
Brassicas: kale
Roots: carrots, Maincrop potatoes, stored onions, beetroot and celeriac
Salad: rocket, salad leaves, chard, spinach, last hearting-lettuces and Florence fennel
Edible Flowers: nasturtiums, runner bean flowers and first of violas
Legumes: last July-sown French beans
Squash: all pumpkins and squash
Fruity veg: aubergines, peppers, last cucumbers and tomatoes
Herbs: parsley, chervil, coriander, dill, last of the mint, rosemary, sage and thyme
Fruit: cobnuts and walnuts, apples, quince and pears.
Considering the amount of Asian Hornets we are now getting after years of being careful not to bring them into this country and destroying our colonies of bees
Please find attached some information about Asian hornet we would like every member to receive. It gives information about identifying Asian hornet, the App, and asks all members to put a trap out and monitor and report.
hi all would you all like a November's garden posted?
From the Just Bees News www.justbeehoney.co.uk
PROTECT YOUR HOME BY PROTECTING YOUR GARDEN
Do you enjoy your garden? Here are some security tips to protect your outdoor space from opportunist bur-
glars looking for a way in!
Let there be light – consider installing security lights both to illuminate your garden and deter thieves. Mo-
tion sensor lights switch on when movement is detected, sodium tubes switch on automatically when it be-
comes dark.
Beautiful boundaries – Keep shrubs, bushes, hedges, and plants cut back as they can provide a hiding place
for thieves. Check that all boundary fences, walls, and gates are in good repair. A solid barrier is an excellent
deterrent to an opportunist thief.
Lock it up – Prevent burglars from breaking into your shed or outbuildings by using a good quality lock or
padlock, consider covering windows with mesh to protect what’s inside.
Plants – consider buying trellis to put on top of fences and plants that have thorns, prickles. These make it
harder for the thief!
Don’t let burglars ruin your garden sanctuary. Find advice on all aspects of home security:
www.sussex.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention
Octobers jobs
sowing & growing
Collect seeds from summer-flowering plants for planting next year. Or with beautiful seed heads such as alliums, cut off from the plant whole, dry and spray paint in silvers or golds for glorious Christmas decorations. It's also a good idea to leave some seeds in situ in the garden for hungry birds.
Plant out the hardy annuals you've been bringing on inside and any biennials still not placed.
Sow your sweet seeds now, to ensure larger, more robust and earlier flowering plants next spring.
Save seed from your favourite plants – it is easy to do and will provide you with plenty of plants to fill gaps or make an existing scheme have more impact. Leave a few seed heads on your plants after they've finished flowering to allow the seeds to ripen, then collect them and store in paper bags in a cool dry place until you are ready to sow them.
Dig up any scented-leaf pelargoniums still outside and pot them up as winter houseplants. Most will remain happily on a sunny window ledge for much of the winter, to be cut back early next spring.
bulbs & tubers
You can continue to plant spring bulbs in the still-warm ground, to give them the longest possible growing time ahead of next year.
Alliums are also happiest planted while the soil is still a little warm in early-mid Autumn, in contrast to tulips, which benefit from going into the ground when the temperature has dropped (when the diseases and fungus that they are prone to during the warmer months have died off).
Plant peonies this month as well, and established peony plants should be pruned shortly after the first frost.
Brighten up shady bits of your garden with spring-flowering, shade-tolerant bulbs.
If we have early frosts, remove dahlia and gladiolus bulbs and tubers from the ground, cutting back their stems to approx 5cm from the roots first. Leave the bulbs somewhere warm and dry for a couple of days. Sprinkling with yellow sulphur powder is a good idea, particularly on any damaged tubers. Then store in dry compost in a box lined with newspaper, or in a pot, somewhere warm and dry, until spring. Alternatively, mulch your dahlias in late autumn under several inches of mushroom compost or similar and just clear this away once the worst of the frosts are over in the spring.
Lift and divide large clumps of crocosmia, and replant into freshly prepared soil. If you have any spring bulbs in storage that you lifted earlier in the year, now’s the time to check them over before replanting. Dispose of any that are showing obvious signs of rot, or that feel soft to the touch.
This is a good moment to create your winter ornamental tubs, too. Plant a tall and stately Tulips such as the scented 'Ballerina',
Pot up roots of Lily of the valley to provide fragrant winter flowers. Any spent compost from containers of summer bedding can be spread around the borders to use as a mulch.
Plant new Amaryllis to give you beautiful flowers for winter and early spring. Plant them firmly, cramming the soil around the bulb. Amaryllis like their soil rich, but exceptionally well drained.
Plant some mini iris for pots inside, cramming them into pots with the bulbs almost touching. Planted now, they will be in flower in February when forced on a sunny windowsill.
harvesting
Lovely things to pick and arrange from your garden in October:
Hardy annuals: late-flowering varieties, Euphorbia oblongata, sunflowers and scabious
Half-hardy annuals: long-flowering varieties, eg. cosmos, cleome, nicotiana and moluccella, and some from second sowing, eg. amaranthus, antirrhinums, tithonias and zinnias
Tender perennials: chrysanthemums and dahlias
Perennials: rudbeckias and nerines
Shrubs and trees: hydrangeas, spindle (Euonymus alatus) and autumn leaves
pruning & tidying
Continue deadheading.
Keep weeding. Perennial weeds may pull out easily now, but make sure that you don't leave any of the root to overwinter!
Bring tender plants, eg. pelargoniums, in out of the frost and begin to cut them back.
Divide and replant overcrowded spring and summer flowering perennials, such as geraniums.
Lift, divide and replant congested clumps of perennials. Use two garden forks back to back to split larger clumps.
Remove plant supports and store away.
Prune climbing roses and rambling roses once they've finished flowering and tie in the stems before autumn winds cause damage. Cut back any dead, diseased or damaged branches to the ground or a healthy bud. Cut side shoots back by about two-thirds to a outward facing bud, and tie in horizontally to encourage flowering shoots. Collect fallen leaves from under rose bushes so they don't carry diseases over to next year.
Prune tall summer flowering shrubs such as Buddleia to about half their height in order to prevent damage by winter winds and to tidy their appearance. Remove suckers growing around the base of trees.
planting
Plant evergreen shrubs and new climbers.
Prepare the ground for any bare-rooted stock coming next month.
vegetables
Peas and beans that have gone over can be cut down to ground level, and their roots left in the soil to be dug over – they then break down and return vital nitrogen to the earth. You can also sow broad beans this month for good early pickings in May and June next year.
Plant shallots, onion sets and garlic now for the best sized bulbs next year.
Cut back Jerusalem artichokes and asparagus to ground level. After cutting the asparagus ferns, carefully weed the bed and cover with a layer of mulch or manure. You can then mulch with grit over the top and scatter a handful of granular dishwasher salt, which acts as a weedkiller. The saline environment kills annual weed seedlings, whereas asparagus – as a seashore plant – is fine.
Cut down the dying tops of other perennial vegetables .
Dig over veg beds as their contents go over. Cold weather can often help to break down any large clods of soil in to smaller, more free draining particles, ready for the next sowing.
Cover any productive salad plants with cloches to protect from the frosts.
Earth up leeks to cover and blanch their stems.
Early-maturing varieties of peas can be sown outside now – cover emerging seedlings with cloches to protect from birds.
Make sure Brussels sprouts are firm in the ground as wind-rock breaks the tiny hairs on the roots that take in the nutrients. Earthing up a few inches around the stems and treading in or staking will keep them secure. If you haven't already done so, net your brassicas as they will be under attack as other food becomes scarce.
Florence fennel is one of the best autumn and winter crops, but will get damaged in a hard frost, so fleece or cloche it now to harvest straight from the garden. Mound up a little around the base of the bulb before covering to increase the size of the swollen part and help prevent bolting.
Remove yellowing leaves from Brussels Sprouts plants and other brassicas to prevent the spread of disease and dispose of them.
A warm autumnal day is the perfect time to add manure to your potato patch. On thin soils – chalk and sand – double dig, adding manure to the base of a trench before turning the soil of the next trench over that manure. On improved heavy clay soil, spread the manure and tease it in with a fork.
salad & herbs
Cover any productive salad plants with cloches to protect from the frosts doorstep or windowsill.
Sow winter herbs and salad in containers. Get a decent sized (at least 8in (20cm) deep) box or crate. Knock several drainage holes in the bottom, fill with compost and sow your salad. Cover the boxes with cling film to enclose the moisture and put them somewhere warm to germinate.
Hardy herbs can be planted out in guttering in a south-facing spot.
Pot up less hardy herbs such as parsley, chives and French tarragon and bring inside into a sunny, frost-free spot.
Cut back stems of oregano and marjoram that have flowered, to just above ground level.
Cover tender herbs with a cloche and pot up some, eg mint, chives and parsley, to keep on a bright window sill.
fruit
Plant new soft fruit canes.
As soon as you’ve finished picking this year’s blackberries, the old fruited canes can be pruned out to make space for next year’s to develop. Cut back all the stems that have produced blackberries this year to ground level and tie in new growth. Leave autumn fruiting raspberries until later in the winter.
Move citrus trees indoors to a frost-free position away from radiators or draughts.
Plant a fruit tree – an apple or pear. Dig a hole twice the size of the root ball and break up the base, adding plenty of organic matter (leaf mould or manure). Plant the tree to the same level as it was previously. As with roses, this ensures the graft is below soil level. If you have no more space for a fruit tree in the ground, plant one in a pot. Use a 37-litre filled with John Innes No 3, mixed with about a third of tree or shrub compost and some Osmocote (or other slow-release fertiliser), with plenty of crocks in the bottom.
harvesting
Here's what you could be picking and eating this time next year or, if you're an old hand, already are:
Brassicas: kale
Roots: carrots, Maincrop potatoes, stored onions, beetroot and celeriac
Salad: rocket, salad leaves, chard, spinach, last hearting-lettuces and Florence fennel
Edible Flowers: nasturtiums, runner bean flowers and first of violas
Legumes: last July-sown French beans
Squash: all pumpkins and squash
Fruity veg: aubergines, peppers, last cucumbers and tomatoes
Herbs: parsley, chervil, coriander, dill, last of the mint, rosemary, sage and thyme
Fruit: cobnuts and walnuts, apples, quince and pears.
Asian Hornets
Considering the amount of Asian Hornets we are now getting after years of being careful not to bring them into this country and destroying our colonies of bees
Please find attached some information about Asian hornet we would like every member to receive. It gives information about identifying Asian hornet, the App, and asks all members to put a trap out and monitor and report.
The information has been put together on a web page if you could share this via any social media. https://www.bbka.org.uk/help-the-fight-against-the-asian-hornet-invasion
Asian hornet alert WhatsApp group
Get the latest Asian hornet news stories, sent straight to your WhatsApp on your computer- all you need to do is click the link below.
https://chat.whatsapp.com/KtHEKzoayn46VwwK0isFco