By Ewshot Gardener in association with Church Crookham and Fleet Garden Society (Link to ccgsoc.org.uk)
What to do this November
Plant growth is slowing, so now is the time to maximise the possibilities of Winter and step ahead for Spring. November rains and frost can wreak havoc, so in November we need to protect against the elements.
Now is the time to put precious plants to bed in greenhouses or light rooms, not dark cupboards or corridors. There is just still time to pot up containers with bulbs.
Flowers and Shrubs
Tuber plants like dahlias can be either left in the ground with a thick covering of mulch to protect from frosts, or lifted and store. The latter produces better cut blooms the following year though as the tubers have more vigour, whereas left in plants will weaken, producing thin stems, washed-out colours and daisy-eyed blooms and need to be replaced after a few years.
After first frost, cut stems back to 10cm. Carefully lift the tubers, clean, discarding damaged ones. The stems are hollow, so invert to drain any moisture and completely dry the tuber for two weeks before storing. Pack in crates such as mushroom boxes, on a layer of sterile potting compost and cover with a sterile vermiculite blanket. Store in frost-free, cool, dark place until February, checking intermittently and removing any with rot. Remember to label them!
Roses, take cuttings or order bare rooted ones now for planting in the Winter; bare rooted plants are often grown by nurseries which ensures variety, good quality stock and less expense.
Other flowers to grow now, Eryngium and Alliums both bee friendly, Corydalis solida and Bugle both natives to Britain, Sweet pea for earlier flowering
Rough Grass and Meadow Areas
Trees, Winter is the best time to plant trees while they are dormant
Fallen leaves will smother grass beneath, turning it yellow. Prevent this by raking them up as they fall – less work, too…. Either place into a chicken wire ‘pen’ and wait for a couple years for them to rot down into a soil improving leaf mould, or lay them directly onto the vegetable or flower beds.
This year I stored the leaves directly on the potato beds and sowed beneath, with sufficient leaves there was no need to earth up – saving labour all round. I found no noticeable difference in potato yields, though, but will keep you updated.
Fruit and Vegetables
Fruit trees and bushes, order bare rooted ones now for the same reason as the roses, see above.
Garlic, can be planted late Autumn to early Spring but Autumn plantings will yield more abundant crops from late May/June onwards. Garlic prefers well drained soil, sandy soil is beneficial; hating clay soils like mine I need to use raised beds filled with free draining compost. Sprinkling grit both along the rows before you plant and mixed into the soil will further aid drainage.
Leave 15cm around the cloves apart to allow room to hoe for weed removal, as unchecked weeds may choke the plants. Plant the cloves with the pointy end facing up and the flat end at the bottom; plant so the very tip of the clove is just covered. Water initially if soil is dry.
The conundrum – should you use the garlic cloves from the supermarket – some people do and appear to have good crops, while professional gardeners advise is these may not survive or thrive in the British climate and to use only those from specialised suppliers.
Brassicas, as the bird food becomes scarce, these will need protecting from pigeons by netting.
Broad beans, can be sown in the ground in autumn or in pots, for transplanting later. November sowing can bring harvest forwards by a few weeks, while having roots in the ground will aid soil structure and prevent leaching of soil nutrients in autumn rains.
Salad leaves e.g. mizuna, mustard or spinach are easy to sow indoors on a bright windowsill for winter pickings, or raise them in a greenhouse/polytunnel.
Spring onions, hardier varieties, such as ‘Performer’, can be sown in autumn for Winter and Spring harvests. They do well in pots, making protecting the young plants by cloches easier, or grow in greenhouse/polytunnel.
Early peas, sow, e.g. ‘Meteor’ or Kelvedon Wonder, in Autumn to overwinter, providing harvests in early Spring.
Remember Hedgehogs on 5th November and check bonfires before lighting…