5 quick jobs
1 The autumn raspberry harvest should be in full flow. On hot days ripening happens in a flash, so keep picking to ensure the berries.
2 If annual and biennial herbs such as dill, fennel and milk thistle are setting seeds, remove from the plants and leave to dry in an airy spot before bagging them up.
3 With mature root systems and searing summer heat growing bags containing tomatoes and courgettes could need watering twice daily. 4 Long, arching shoots of fruit trees can be ‘festooned’ where they’re tied into the main trunk to form an arch. This increases flower and fruit set in future years.
5avoid Keep an eye on your compost heap: adding weed seedheads, keep it damp and mix up your materials to deter slimy or dry, twiggy pockets.
WHEN I was a child, I used to wonder why my father would patiently stake his 10 Brussels sprout plants in the family veg plot, yet he grew acres of them on our adjacent smallholding and they never received such preferential treatment. How could those field-grown plants stay upright all on their own? Now, I understand his reasoning – there’s safety in numbers! The peripheral plants of field-grown brassicas are essentially sacrificial, being buffeted by the wind (and targeted by pigeons) but simultaneously providing an effective windbreak for the more central crop.
Very few of us grow vast numbers of Brussels sprouts, sprouting broccoli, kale or similar lofty brassicas, so mostly our crops are vulnerable to wind damage as autumn gales loom and maturing plants become increasingly top-heavy. So, hammer a 4ft (1.2m) stake or stout cane alongside each plant now, securing it with twine, safe in the knowledge such due diligence will get your plants safely into 2020.