October Hints and Tips
This rose won 1st prize at the Summer Show
2018 has produced an extraordinary crop of top fruits and they have been ready to harvest from late August. o you have probably already stored the sound fruit in newspaper in a cool shed or garage. However, it has been too dry for autumn raspberries to thrive. I am so disappointed.
Other jobs you could do
Remaining tender fruits like squashes, pumpkins and turnips need to be brought indoors to protect them from frosty nights. You can plant autumn onions, garlic and overwintering broad beans.
Rake up and dispose of rotting fallen fruits and leaves from apples and pears – it is best to burn or green bin them to reduce fungal infection next year. Grease bands will prevent female winter moths climbing up the trunks to lay their eggs. (Their larvae eating their way out of the fruit is one cause of rot.)
Rhubarb that has been in place for five years should be lifted and divided. Discard the centre and replant the outermost vigorous portions.
Pot up and bring under glass Fuchsia, citrus and Brugmansia; dig up tubers of tender plants like Dahlia and Canna once the foliage has been slightly blackened by frost – place them in a frost free, dry place over winter.
Lift and divide herbaceous perennials and cut back top growth UNLESS they are very tender like Penstemon, Gaura or hardy Fuchsia, where the top will protect the new growth from frost. Unless you are obsessively tidy-minded, it is kind to leave some seed heads for the wildlife.
Take hard wood cuttings of roses and other deciduous shrubs like Cornus, Forsythia and Philadelphus. It is a good idea to reduce hybrid tea roses and Buddleia by a third to prevent wind rock; for the same reason prune old growth of climbing roses and tie in new shoots of ramblers.
September Gardening Tips
Here are your tips for September gardening. After a cold Spring, we have had a hot dry June and July 2018 and now a cool damp week. By the time you read this, we might be under water or in a desert! The hot weather hastened the ripening of apples and brought forward the harvesting of potatoes; the runner beans in my care have hated it!
The suggestions of things to do in the September garden are based on what normally needs to be done at this time of year.
Ornamental garden
The year is far from over and chrysanthemums, asters and dahlias will go on flowering so long as you feed and dead-head them. Take cuttings of favourite fuchsias, pelargoniums and penstemons to overwinter under cover. Collect seeds from other plants and dry them before storing in paper envelopes (or swapping with friends).
Lift and divide hardy perennials. Plant new ones for next year’s colour e.g. Helenium, Helianthus and Asters.
September is also a time to start planting for spring – daffodils need to go in now, but tulips can wait until November.
Plant trees and shrubs while the soil is still warm.
To give a tidy outline for the Winter, clip deciduous hedges like hawthorn, beech and hornbeam, and give a second clip to the soft growth of cypress and yew.
Harvest Supper 28th September
Church Crookham Garden Society
7:30 Friday 28th September 2018
Crookham Memorial Hall
Sandy Lane
Church Crookham
Bring a Plate of Food to Share
Free to Members
Non Members Adult £3 or Family £5
Rose hips
Tel: 07801 714662 
Email: alecjgrant@icloud.com