WAHGA Jobs for Autumn

It seems as if we went from summer to autumn almost overnight, I’m really enjoying the autumnal feel and am looking forward to some dramatic autumn foliage.  

The allotment harvest is providing an abundance of apples and pears; do share where you can.  Tomatoes are still ripening on the vines, pick them green and ripen indoors as the days are getting shorter and shorter.

Make the most of your produce by eating, storing, preserving and sharing as much as you can. Feel free to share your favourite recipes on our facebook group.   And there’s plenty still to come; sprouts, parsnips, kale and other produce, which you’ll be harvesting through the winter.  

And a date for your diary - the WAGHA Quiz is on Saturday November 15th!

SOW AND PLANT

This is still time to direct sow, and plant seedlings. The soil is warm and damp, seeds will germinate quickly.

• Salad vegetables -  sow salad vegetables such as Arctic King lettuce, winter hardy spring onions, rocket, and radish

• Sow frost hardy veg such as perpetual spinach, rocket, kale, chard, winter green cabbage, cavolo nero, baby turnips and swedes, purple sprouting broccoli.

• Autumn onion sets and garlic can be planted now for an early crop next year.

• Spring cabbages can be planted out to slowly develop for next year.

• Pot up strawberry runners to make new plants for next summer.  If you have spares they’ll be appreciated by other plot-holders and gardeners.

Broad beans can be sown towards the end of October - Aquadulce Claudia is one of the best choice for autumn sowing, and also Franchi seeds Aguadulce Supersimona - don’t forget to use your WAHGA discount if buying from Valentina Deli in Weybridge High Street!

HARVEST

Potatoes:   To store potatoes, dig them up on a dry morning, leave on the surface for a few hours to dry out and for the skins to harden, rub off excess soil, and only store un-damaged potatoes in hessian or paper sacks in a cool, dry, dark place.  Alternatively dig up what you need through September and harvest the rest in October. 

Harvest as you need them, beetroot, carrots, cauliflowers, broccoli, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, leeks, marrows, onions, pumpkins, radishes, spring onions, spinach, sweetcorn, and turnips.   

Apples and pears are ready to pick when they easily part from the tree. Lift the fruit gently in your palm and give a slight twist. Use the windfalls in your crumbles, pies and preserves now, and only store unblemished fruit in a cool, dark place, in racks or wrap in newspaper and place in boxes.  

MAINTAIN AND LEAVE TO GROW

For summer raspberries and all blackberries, cut back the canes/stems that have fruited this year.  Next years crop will be on the new stems that have grown this year.  Tie in/train the new green canes/stems for fruiting next year. 

• Celeriac & Parsnips – harvest as you need them, but they will taste sweeter after the first frosts.

• Swede & Turnips – you can leave these in the ground until you want to use them

• Leeks – these will stand in the ground over autumn and winter, so harvest them as and when you want to use them.

• Cabbages – these will stand well in the ground, so you can harvest them when they reach a good size.

• Cauliflowers – best to harvest as soon as the heads reach full maturity, and before any hard frosts.

• Winter Squash & Pumpkins – harvest once the skins are tough (you shouldn’t be able to pierce the skin with a thumbnail) – this is usually towards late October,

• Rocket – this will overwinter in this area

• Sprouts – depending on the cultivar, they will be ready to harvest as you need them, some late varieties cultivars are not  ready until December. Protect from  from slugs and pigeons!

• Sprouting Broccoli – this might pause from producing florets until early spring

• Spinach, Chard, Kale – as long as these look healthy, continue cropping and  leave them to grow on

  
  

FRUIT JOBS

Autumn is the perfect time for planting perennial fruit.  You can buy fruit trees and plants ‘bare root’ which is the cheaper and more environmental option.  Have a look at Blackmoor Nurseries, a tried and tested supplier.  There is a £5 discount per order for WAHGA members.  Order now for November planting. 

• Raspberry canes can be ordered now for planting in November.

• Blueberries can be planted now, they do well in large pots filled with ericaceous compost as they are acid loving plants.   

• Gooseberries, currants and other soft fruit, which are not readily available in the supermarket, are also worth trying out.   

• On an allotment, and small/medium gardens, fruit trees should be on dwarf root stock to keep a short sturdy tree.   Step-over trees are another option; perfect for edging a border, or Cordon trees which are ideal for hiding a shed in the garden. 

• in October cut back the fruited canes of summer raspberries, blackberries, tayberries. Tie in the new growth of blackberries and tayberries to create a structure for next season.  

• Pot on strawberry runners, and tidy up your strawberry bed to prevent overcrowding.

GENERAL

If you have areas of bare soil, either plant crops to overwinter, or improve the soil by sowing green manure seeds, such as mustard and ryegrass.  The green manure protects the soil from erosion over winter, leaching of mineral and nutrients, as well as boosting nutrients and adding organic matter when dug into the soil.  

Another option is to lay down cardboard and cover with composted manure, or just apply the organic matter directly to the soil.

Harvest your homegrown compost.  For many heaps the top layer will only be partially composted; take this off and dig out the well-rotten material beneath to spread on the ground. With no-dig gardening you should spread it over the soil to replenish good bacteria in the top layer of the soil, but if you prefer, fork it into the soil.

When adding to your compost pile, cut large plants into small pieces to speed up the composting process by chopping up the plant matter, and have  a good mix of green and brown and cardboard.  Cover the heap with cardboard and it's important to make sure it stays moist.

IN THE GARDEN

Herbaceous perennials will continue to flower up to the first frosts, so keep dead heading to encourage new buds.  Dahlias, Penstemon, Cosmos and Salvias are looking at their best.  

It’s a good time to take semi-ripe cuttings of Rosemary, Lavender, Roses and other small woody shrubs.

Annuals such as nemesia, diascia, fuchsia, cosmos and pelargonium will also continue to flower if you keep deadheading.  

Improve your lawn with an autumn feed, and it’s a good time to sow seed on any bald patches.  When we have some dry days give the lawn a high mow. 

It’s the perfect time to divide herbaceous perennials.  Depending on the plant dig up, split and replant.   Take cuttings from plants such as Salvia and Penstemon.   Its also a good time to take cuttings from pelargoniums, roses, lavender and rosemary to name a few!

Autumn is the ideal time to plant new trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials.  They spend the dormant period over winter developing a strong root system.  Roses will be available bare root to plant soon. 

Bulb planting season will soon be upon us!  I favour crocus and dwarf daffs, with a few early iris reticulata.  Delay planting tulips until the weather cools, and to deter squirrels and mice from eating your tulips, top the area or pot or with winter annuals such as viola or primula.

WILDLIFE

As you crop and clear your plot over the next weeks, tidy debris as you go.   Netting is high risk to birds and small mammals, please put away unnecessary netting in a shed or storage box. If you have netting still in use, ensure it is well secured to avoid trapping any birds and mammals.

It’s the perfect time to sow wild flower seeds. I recommend a mix of perennials such as cowslip, primula, lychnis, campion,  and annuals, poppy, cornflower, borage, forget-me-not.  Bees and other insects are still active, so it’s important to have a range of flowers across the allotment site flowering through the year.  

If you’ve got space, think about leaving a small log pile for wood lice, centipedes and millipedes.  You might be lucky to house some stag beetles.  Piles of leaves are also good, even if they’re in bags with holes to make leaf mould.

It’s the perfect time to put down a hedgehog house on your plot or in your garden if you have one.  Nest boxes can be put up now as many birds enter them during autumn and winter looking for a place to roost or feed.  They often then use the same box for nesting.  

Please continue to have water available for birds, insects, foxes and hedgehogs. 

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