Ease into autumn with a thought for garden visitors
The season is changing. Swallows have left for warmer places and now migrating geese are noisily flying above our allotments towards the shore. Leaves are taking on autumnal tints.
Plots which looked picture- book neat in high summer are beginning to appear a bit dishevelled. My runner bean and sweet pea supports, heavy with foliage, have been buffeted by the wind and assumed some jaunty new angles.
It’s tempting to embark on some major tidying up. Swathes of freshly raked soil will only look perfect for a few days before weeds begin to germinate. It’s short- sighted to think that occasional hoeing will keep things under control and I prefer to take a different approach. Bare soil can be sown with a green manure crop such as rye grazing serving the dual purpose of suppressing weeds and ensuring soil doesn’t get eroded in heavy winter rain. When spring comes, it’s easy enough to dig in the plants adding humus to the soil. If they’ve grown a bit too tall, the top growth can be chopped off and composted.
It’s also time to think about those beneficial creatures we need to encourage. Piles of leaves and old raspberry canes left in a corner can provide homes for hedgehogs. Hollow stems provide welcome habitats for overwintering invertebrates such as solitary bees and ladybirds.
Teasels and sunflowers together with hedgerow berries at the back of the plot provide food for birds. Blackbirds, robins and tits are regular winter visitors and are our top allies in keeping slug populations in check. If we look after them now, they’ll stay around next year, continuing their valuable work.
Where it pays to be tidy is if there is any evidence of diseased or damaged crops particularly among soft fruit. As soon as the leaves have fallen, it’s easy to spot the telltale signs of big bud on blackcurrant bushes. If there are only one or two affected buds, they can be picked off and disposed of. If there are lots, it’s time to replace the bush with a new one, preferably in a different place. Raspberry beetle grubs can wreck a ripening row of berries in summer. At the same time as cutting down the old canes, I carefully gather up all the fallen leaves leaving clear earth between the plants in the hope that birds will hunt out larvae.