General Maintenance
- Build a compost bin too accommodate all the remains of harvested crops.
- prepare ground that has become free after early crops to sow fast growing catch crops.
- Green manures can be sown on vacant land.
- Weeds need to be hoed off before they set seed.
Vegetables
- Harvest veg while it is still young and at its best, this is the advantage of growing your own.
- Sow winter Spinach, spring Cabbage and Japanese Onions before the warmth leaves the soil.
- Sow Turnips, these are best sown in situ as they hate root disturbance.
Thin out when very young so the plants can get established quickly. - Winter Radish can be sown varieties such as Mooli and Diakon will grow for use in winter or storage.
- As the leaves of Onions turn yellow bend the neck over to aid ripening.
Lift the bulbs and dry either out doors in the sunshine or in a well ventilated area indoors. - Keep picking Courgettes, or leave to produce Marrows.
- Harvest Sweetcorn when the fruit tassels turn brown.
- If the Peas and Beans are coming to the end of cropping, a few can be left to dry on the plant and supply you with seeds for next year.
Fruit
- Summer prune Raspberries, gooseberries, Cherries, cordon and espalier trained fruit.
- Prune Plums and Damsons after fruiting. Take out any dead or broken branches.
- Harvest Apples when they are fully ripe, but Pears can be pick whilst they are still firm and ripened before use.
- Make new Strawberry beds and plant out runners taken in the previous months.
Greenhouse
- Moulds on greenhouse plants can be a problem as the nights get colder and damper.
Clear away any foliage that yellows or dies and generally open up plants to allow air to flow freely. - Continue to harvest all greenhouse crops to prolong cropping for as many weeks as possible.
- Check plants regularly for pests such as White fly and Red spider mite.
- Sow a greenhouse variety of Lettuce for autumn use.
- Dwarf French Beans can be sown in pots and grown on under glass to get a small crop in the latter months of the season