What to do in the garden this week:

As you’re more likely to have been pulling out plants than putting them in this month, bare soil is inevitable. Think of it as an opportunity to give back: to replace some of those nutrients lost to intensive cropping in summer. Dig in general garden fertiliser, top up raised beds with fresh garden mix, add a layer of fresh compost and sweeten acid soils with a sprinkle of lime. You can also start sowing cover crops to act as living mulches in parts of your garden in need of a well-deserved break. Cover crops sequester nitrogen (dig them back in come spring), prevent soil erosion and suppress weed growth. Bought and sown in bulk, they’re a cheap, eco-friendly way to work in harmony with nature. Try broad beans, phacelia, mustard, peas and blue lupin and clover. Mustard also has a cleansing effect by reducing soil insects like wireworm, which attacks root crops.

Make hay while the sun shines and make compost while your green waste supply is in full steam. Autumn is a season of composting action, with loads of grass clippings, spent crops, prunings and kitchen scraps going spare, not to mention the arrival of fallen leaves. The ideal compost bin has a capacity of at least 1 cubic metre, with slatted sides to allow good aeration. Build it within reach of your garden hose, as the occasional dampening-down does the world of good in hot weather. If compost gets too dry, decomposition slows.

I love growing and eating most of the brassicas, especially cabbages, caulis and broccoli (but not yucky Brussels sprouts and kale). But this year my seedlings have got off to a dry start. Remember to keep seedling trays moist and perhaps inside. My inconsistent watering has seen my early seedlings bake in the sun (I left them outside too long after starting them indoors) and we will have to start again.

Compiled by William Hansby