Autumn To-Dos
There are lots of things to keep you busy in the garden over these next few months and autumn is all about tidying, here we share some of our suggestions.
- Don’t leave the leaves! The winds and gales, the rain and cold all encourage the leaves from the trees. If you have substantial leaves, the leaves will smother and kill the grass so try to remove these either by raking (there are lots of rakes on the market that make this job easier ie cushioned handles, wider rakes that cut down on raking time etc) or you could use a hand held blower. Leaves can be used for compost or making leaf mould which will later give higher nutrients to your soil.
- October is a good time to repair any bald spots on the grass with grass seed. Remove weeds and dead grass from the area. Flush the soil with water if the bald spot is due to dog urine or fertilizer burn. Cultivate the soil to a depth of 6-8 inches and spread a layer of compost. Sow the patch with an appropriate seed mix, sprinkling half the grass seeds in one direction and the rest in the other. Lightly rake over the seed and protect it against birds with netting. The soil surface should be kept moist but not wet until the seedling are growing strongly.
- Order fruit trees for planting from late autumn.
- It’s also a great time to plant shrubs and trees as the soil is warm and moist which means they root down well giving them a head start establishing ready for the spring.
- Pot up tender perennials from summer displays.
- Sow sweet peas now.
- Lift and store carrots.
- Pot up herbs to bring under cover for winter.
Lastly, hedgehogs are considered the gardener’s friend as they can help keep some of the garden pests under control. A new report shows that hedgehog numbers have dropped by 25% in just 10 years!
With Halloween and bonfire night coming up remember bonfire piles look like “hedgehog hotels” so please be aware and if you’d like to find out more about how you and others can help our hedgehogs visit http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/