Garden Tips for October & November

Lawns

Autumn is the best time of the year to treat your lawn as the feed will get to the roots and not just ëgreen upí the top. Using a lawn feed which also contains moss killer will enable you to both jobs at the same time.

Aerating your lawn will improve drainage and let air to the roots, you can do this by using a garden fork, pushing it into the lawn as far as it will go (25-30cm) and jiggling back and forth. Do a small section at a time because it can be hard work especially if you have a big lawn! If possible fill holes in with sand as this will work into the soil and help against compaction. Leave worm casts until they are dry and brush them off using a hard broom.

Hanging baskets

You can make up winter baskets with Pansies or Violas, using Ivies to trail over the sides will help to soften the edges. Under-plant Pansies with bulbs (I use dwarf Daffodils) as these will flower in the early spring when the pansies are struggling to flower in the cold weather. If you would rather some else do the hard work for you, we offer a basket filling service, all you need to do is provide the basket. Alternatively, we sell readymade baskets and pots.

Pots, Planters & Beds

Your pots, planters and beds may be looking a little jaded now so bite the bullet and re-plant with winter Pansies and Violas, the sooner you do this the better, Pansies and Violas planted now have more time to get established and will flower through the winter months, if you leave it for until late Autumn they
don’t settle in and won’t flower until the spring. We have a wide range of winter plants and readymade†planters now in stock!

Autumn crops

Pumpkins and Squashes may need straw or a mat under the fruit to stop them from rotting, make sure that the sun can still get to the fruit so they can ripen properly, if you have a greenhouse you can cut the fruits and put them inside to help ripen them off. Lift and store crops like Beetroot and Parsnips if the weather gets cold as they need to be frost free. A garage or shed are ideal locations.

Planting and sowing

Broad beans and Garden Peas can be sown in the autumn to overwinter, this will help against blackfly in the spring

Roses

Prune roses back approximately 50% in the autumn and collect up all the old leaves, especially any that have got black spot or mildew (These need to be disposed of in the recycling bin, donít put them on the compost heap) and feed with Bone meal. You can mulch with manure & start a programme for spraying against disease in the spring.