Freshen up for autumn

WARM evenings may be getting few and far between, but there are still plenty of reasons to get out in your garden.

In fact, the beginning of autumn is a great time to prepare it for the colder months ahead.

If your lawn needs some love, now is a good time to scarify it and apply autumn feed.

A scarifier is a tool that removes debris such as grass cuttings, thatch and moss from the lawn and will improve drainage during the rainier months.

The middle of this month is also a good time to repair any broken edges and fix bald patches, bumps and hollows by sowing new grass seed.

For fruit and vegetable growers, now is the time to adjust growing and harvesting routines.

If you have any late-season crops, such as salad and courgettes, cover them with horticultural fleece to protect them from drops in temperature.

Another job for this time of year is harvesting marrows, French and runner beans, autumn cauliflower, onions and shallots.

Also spend time clearing out summer bedding plants from your beds, borders and containers.

Fork over the cleared areas, work in some wellrotted organic matter then transplant autumn bedding plant varieties into the gaps. Lift and store any tender plants that need to spend the winter out of the frost in a cool shed.

It’s also important to rake your garden regularly now. If fallen leaves are left on your lawn for long periods of time they will reduce the amount of light that reaches the grass, making it turn yellow.

For large flat areas, a lawn rake is ideal. But if your garden is uneven or has lots of borders, consider investing in a garden vacuum.

If you use it in shredder mode the leaves will rot down much more quickly when composted.