Time to reap what you have sowed
■ It’s harvest time for loads of crops so catch fruit and veg at its best, either for eating now or storing for the winter. Onions are ready when the foliage starts drooping over. You can tell if sweetcorn is ripe by squeezing a kernel, milky juice should come out.
■ Watering and feeding remains top priority, especially for any pots, troughs, hanging baskets and containers.
■ Finish pruning apple trees that are fan, cordon or espalier.
■ Look after pond life – keep water levels topped up, remove blanket weed and cut back yellow foliage on pond plants.
■ Dry weather is great for getting paint jobs done such as sheds, fences or furniture that need a face-lift. Is it time to try out a new colour scheme?
■ There’s still time to grow some veg that will mature before winter – salads and other quick- growing crops like radishes can all be sown now.
■ Take a walk around the garden and see if there’s any seed ready for collection.
■ Trim hedges.