September Jobs For Your Garden

September is a glorious month in the garden with lots of jobs to keep you busy, here we take a look at some important September jobs for your garden that welcomes the start of Autumn.

In September the flower garden is putting on its grand finale showing mounds of flowers in glorious colours, tiny seedlings you planted in the spring are now at their best – dahlias, blousy and bold; godetia, so inexpensive and easy but what a wonderful display.  The annuals, some of which have gone over, can be allowed to set seed to be saved for next year.

Heavy dews can appear in the mornings due to the cooler nights but the days are usually still warm. Apples and pears are still ripening and the vegetable patch looks like a sumptuous feast. Although you can relax a little this month, it is a time for preparing for next year.

Bulbs

September is the month when you can start planting your spring flowering bulbs in the garden with the exception of tulips, as when planted too early it can result in a tulip blight so delay this job until November.

Prepared bulbs, if planted in bowls early this month will be flowering for Christmas and make lovely presents. Narcissus, planted in an unusual container, for example a glass bowl, will give you an elegant and stylish display. You don’t even have to use compost; these prepared bulbs can be planted in gravel or even water. The easiest way is by using fine gravel. Fill your container ¾ full and place the bulbs so there is a small gap between each. Trickle more gravel among the bulbs so their noses are just sticking out. Gently add water until it reaches the bottom of each bulb.

Hyacinth, tulip and daffodil bulbs for indoor containers are best planted in bulb compost. These need to be kept in the cold and dark until their shoots start to grow. The simplest way of doing this is by plunging the containers outside in damp peat. When the shoots are about 1 inch high you can gradually start to acclimatise them to the warmth and light.

 The Flower Garden

There are lots of flower seeds that can be planted at this time of year. Some will need the benefit of later frosts in order to be able to germinate in the spring. Do try members of the primula family; cowslip, primrose or auricula. Scatter the seed onto a mixture of compost, grit and water then place in a sheltered part of the garden or cold frame if you have one. The constant freezing and thawing over the winter should ensure a good germination and in February, cover the pots with glass or clear plastic. The seedling will be ready to prick out in four or five weeks.

Start collecting the ripe seeds of hardy annual flowers and many like cornflowers, marigolds and nigella can be either stored in paper bags in a cool dry place or planted now in the garden. This is a good time for dividing herbaceous perennials and replanting in weed free soil.

Remember to give your hanging baskets and containers a potash rich feed which will keep them flowering throughout the month. Continual deadheading helps to produce flowers until the first frost.

Continue to tie in plants such as dahlias and climbing plants as September can be a bit breezy. Dahlias will produce flowers until the first frost so if a plant has many buds, remove one or two so that the resulting blooms will be larger.

You should now be able to buy biennial plants such as wallflowers, forget-me-nots and sweet williams. Planted this month will enable the roots to establish well as there is still some warmth in the soil.

 The Vegetable Garden

September is the harvesting month. Make sure that all your main crop potatoes are lifted, cleaned and stored in a cool frost free place along with carrots and other root crops.

However, the hardy leek and parsnip will happily live outdoors over the winter just right for picking for a warming winter stew. Did you know, however, that there are many salad crops you can still sow now. They need to be quick growing varieties like salad leaves, radish, spring onions etc. Sow the seeds under a cloche or in a cold frame and you could be eating home grown salads even in December.

Raspberry canes that have produced fruit this year should be removed to allow room for the young growth which will give fruit next year. There are some new raspberry varieties that are definitely worth a try. They are so easy to grow and not expensive to buy.

Apples and pears can be picked now but make sure that the fruits come off easily in your hand, don’t yank. Handle them very gently and store, wrapped individually in paper, in a cool place. Ensure that all the fruits you store have no damage on them as they would quickly rot and affect the remaining fruit.

September is a month to tidy up in the garden, prepare it for the coming year and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Spring bulb catalogues are now out so take the opportunity to plan ahead and remember “don’t forget to smell the flowers”.

For all your September gardening needs including bulbs, seeds, garden tools and more visit our website.

Published September 1st, 2014 by Jordan. Article ref 3073

Tags: bulbs, gardening advice, gardening tips, september garden

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