Dig in for AUTUMN
From lawns to veg plots, how you can get the new season off to a flying start
Some fair-weather gardeners lock the back door at the end of summer, but seasoned hands know mid-autumn is the time for jobs that will make a big difference to your plot. From planting trees to cleaning greenhouses, here’s my guide on preparing your plot for winter to give you a headstart on spring.
Turn leaves into compost
Leafmould is a dark brown, crumbly material that can be used as a mulch or for improving soil. Rather than buy readymade bags of the stuff, it’s easy to make your own from the leaves shed by deciduous trees and shrubs. One way to create this free compost is to collect leaves in a bin bag with a few holes punctured in the base for drainage. Once the bag is full, sprinkle with water, tie up the top and stash in a shady place. Next autumn, the coarse material inside can be used as a mulch.
Protect fruit trees from pests
Prevent pests from decimating fruit next year by taking some preventative measures. Winter moth caterpillars are a common, destructive pest that eat holes in leaves and damage fruit. Safeguard trees with smooth bark by attaching grease bands around their trunks, 18in above the ground, before the end of October, which will stop wingless, female moths from climbing up and laying eggs in branches after they emerge from the soil in November — smear fruit tree grease around trees with craggy bark.
Clean your greenhouse
Greenhouses need attention to ensure they don’t become an incubator for pests and diseases. On a dry day, move all the contents outside and sweep down surfaces to ensure there’s no debris for pests to hide, then clean shelves and structural parts with disinfectant.
How to move shrubs
At some point every gardener will be faced with a shrub that’s in the wrong place or that doesn’t suit a planting scheme. Deciduous shrubs under five years old can successfully be moved to another spot in autumn (wait until early spring to move evergreens). Using the spread of its widest branches as a guide, dig out a circular trench that’s around 12in deep. Undercut the shrub to remove a large rootball. Set in a hole that’s three times the width of the rootball, ensuring the top is level with the surface of the soil.
Dig veg patches
Grab your spade and dig over veg patches, exposing soil-borne pests to birds and allowing frost to break down heavy clods during winter, making it perfect for sowing and growing in spring. If the ground has been regularly cultivated, it’s easy to tackle using a technique known as simple digging. Dig up a clod, turn it over and drop back into the same hole. Chop it up with a spade and repeat the process across the area. As you dig, remove perennial weeds and bury
annuals. Finish by covering the soil with weed control fabric.
Establish new lawns
The weather conditions in mid-autumn are ideal for laying rolls of turf. Prepare the ground by digging and then raking until the texture is crumbly. Walk up and down to firm, before levelling. Lay your first row of turf along a straight edge, finishing the end of the row with a halfsize piece. Lay the next and subsequent rows so that the joints are staggered. Finish by brushing ready-made top dressing (a mixture of sand, soil and loam) into cracks and giving it a good watering.
Prevent wind rock
Newly planted shrubs, along with those that are overly tall, are susceptible to damage by wind rock. This is where buffeting of plants in storms loosens roots and causes a gap to open around stems, which acts as an entry point for frost. Avert problems by checking on recently planted specimens and re-firming them in the ground if necessary. At the same time, chop back overly tall plants by about a third.
Plant a tree
Trees planted now will establish quickly. Set container-grown ones in holes that are three times the diameter of the tree’s rootball and the same depth. Place the tree in the centre and fill gaps with soil, firming down to remove air pockets. Bare root trees need holes that are twice the diameter of their root system. If you have room for only one tree, choose a specimen that looks good for two or more seasons.