It’s time for a clean sweep

A tidy garden means fewer problems later, says Ruth

IT has been a rather wet and windy autumn so far and parts of the garden are looking somewhat battered and leaf-strewn. Rather than let these build up over the next few months, we need to get out there and restore some order before the next bands of low pressure head in.

I can tolerate a few leaves on the soil as they will degrade and be dragged under by worms, helping to open up the soil and enrich its structure.

Leaves on the lawn, however, are a different matter and need to be raked up and either added to the compost, stuffed into black bin liners with holes punched in the sides, or piled up in a wire bin.

They will break down over the next couple of years and produce leafmould, which is one of the most powerful soilenriching agents you can hope to find. And all for free.

Unlike many cultivated plants, weeds keep on growing right through winter and it only takes a few days of rubbish weather, with us cooped up inside, for them to start making serious inroads into your borders.

Get out perennial weeks (thistles, dandelions, chickweed etc) with a fork and compost them unless they are carrying ripened seedhead, in which case they should be consigned to the local green waste depot.

Run a hoe over your beds every week to cut down weed seedlings (weedlings?), leaving them lying where they are so they rot down and help feed the soil.

Don’t neglect hard surfaces and fittings, either. Clear gutters of leaves and debris so water can flow freely into your waterbutts and not spill over the side and flood the garden.

Make sure patios are regularly swept and cleaned to avoid a build up of fallen leaves, moss and algae, which can become dangerously slippery.