Rooko's October Top 10 Tryouts & Tips

1. Now that many crops have been harvested, if your garden or allotment requires digging now is the time for some double digging. Add compost or manure as the digging progresses ready for next years crops.

2. Dig up any outdoor Tomato plants still bearing unripened fruit and hang them up indoors to ripen.

3. If frosts are forecast in your area don't forget to harvest Pumpkins/Squashes before the frost damages them.

4. October is a good time to sow Broadbeans and plant Rhubarb.

5. Think about moving your delicate glazed/ceramic pots indoors to protect them over the Winter.

6. Collect seeds and berries from plants that you want to propagate later.

7. If any of your plants are suffering from blackspot (fungal disease) do not compost their leaves, burn any affected foliage as soon as possible.

8. If  your Potatoes have suffered from blight make sure all the tubers have been lifted and disposed of. Blight can survive the Winter on live plant tissue below ground.

9.October is probably a good time to add slow acting fertilizers to areas of ground planted with fruit trees and perennial plants. Mulch also releases nutrients into the soil slowly. Fallow areas of ground to be used next year will also benefit from adding slow release fertilizers to it.

10.

SOWING/PLANTING IN OCTOBER

1. Japanese onion sets can be planted in October.
2. Broad Beans can also be planted as well as Garlic.
3. Hardy Lettuce can still be sown.

OTHER JOBS IN OCTOBER

1. Pull and store Carrots.
2.  Lift any remaining potatoes.
3. Manure empty areas of the plot as required.
4. Clear away dead/decaying foliage.
5. Tidy fruit beds removing dead leaves from Strawberries. Re-plant runners.

 

 

Back Ache!!

When I had my faulty hip replacement, replaced last January, I asked the surgeon if he could fit a hinge across the base of my back at the same time, to give me more flexibility whilst digging, weeding and carrying out general gardening jobs. Well if he did, it certainly needs oiling today. At the beginning of last week, due to the weather forecasts predicting rain and the general drop in temperatures here, I decided it was time to lift the remainder of my main crop Potatoes, from the main bed on N2 Plot, before the area got too wet and rot started to set in. I stopped the digging/cleaning work on Bed 2 and began the task of lifting the Potatoes last Tuesday. To date just over half the Potato bed has been turned over down to sub-soil level and the Potatoes lifted. Due to the months of dry weather the clay soil is rock solid, with only a few centimeters of surface top soil being loose. Most of the Potatoes have developed close to the surface, (the roots being unable to penetrate downwards through the compacted clay), mainly in the top soil that I added earlier this year from my front garden project. Lucky that.

Most of the Potatoes Developed Close to the Surface Due to Dry Weather and Compacted Clay 8/September/13

Funny Looking Fellow

 I started the digging/lifting the Potatoes at the lower south end of the bed where the soil is in partial shade from the nearby hedgerow. The first meter or so of ground was well flooded during last Winter & Spring. The first plant I lifted in the bottom corner had been affected by blight and was of no use, with the tubers being well rotted in the ground. The plant, tubers and surrounding soil were placed inside a plastic bag for disposal. Moving along the rank no other plants were affected and due to the damp condition of the soil, which was fairly loose here, the potatoes were coming thick and fast with some huge sizes and up to 12 per plant. As I progressed up the slope the ground became drier and totally compacted underneath the plants, making lifting them and forking the soil over, difficult to say the least. The amount and sizes of the potatoes lessened somewhat as I continued up the bed. By Thursday I had swapped my potato fork for a spade which enabled me to slice the soil more easily, breaking it down as I progressed. The removal of weeds and returning Dandelions was done at the same time. Overnight rain on Thursday night with some fairly heavy showers on Friday afternoon softened the soil a little but not enough to make the deeper clay softer. Large clumps of clay and sub soil were lifting away together. Each one of these had to be broken down finer using the spade.

Half Way Down Bed 2 (Left) - Half Way Up Main Bed (Right) 8/September/13

Weather permitting the rest of the spuds will be lifted this coming week. So far most of the tubers are of good quality and only the ones from the lower reaches of the bed showed any signs of scab due to the acidic nature of the soil. About half a dozen tubers have been affected by slugs. So all in all the back breaking work has been worth it. I will certainly continue to sow Desiree in future, for their quantity, size, all round cooking quality and a general resistance to slug damage.

Some of the Harvested Desiree 8/September/13

 With the recent change to cooler, still sunny, but not hot, weather, my Runner beans have finally started some prolific production from the top of the plants. About 10 pounds were picked yesterday and are now in the freezer. My French climbing beans have just about stopped production now, should have sown more this year. Sweetcorn on Plot N1 has mostly been harvested and used but the second sowing on N2 Plot is still producing excellent cobs. Most of the Brassicas and Leeks have perked up since the onset of the cooler conditions and some rain, with the Black grapes almost ready to harvest, probably this coming week. Taking a break from lifting Potatoes on Friday morning, my overwintering Onions were sown on N1 Plot with another 2 rows to be added this week.

Caterpillars Feasting On My Sprout Plants 8/September/13

Lots of caterpillars have been hatching over the past few days, mainly the offspring of Cabbage white butterflies that have been fluttering around abundantly recently. A word of warning check your brassicas now. I spent half an hour today removing caterpillars from my Sprout and young Cauliflower plants.

Tomatoes Still Ripening 1 At A Time 8/September/13

Large Bumble Bee On 1 of My Marigolds 8/September/13

 There's always tomorrow!!!    


   

Rooko's September Top 10 Tryouts & Tips

1. Getting ready for the Winter, early and late Spring offerings, try sowing some of the following now and in the coming couple of months. 1. Broad beans 2. Peas (they may need protection in colder areas) 3. Garlic. 4. Onions, Spring onions and Shallots 5. Winter lettuce 6. Spinach 7. Spring cabbages.

2. Do not prune Plum trees when they are dormant over the Winter months, this can give them Silver leaf disease, which can kill them.

3. September is the time to plant many Spring flowering bulbs.

4. Money saving tip. If you have any lengths of rainwater downpipes spare (not the metal ones), cut them into pieces, (a junior hacksaw or similar makes an easy cut), approximately 3 inches (8cm) long, for use as plant collars, they are durable and long lasting.

5. I thought this link may be useful to my viewers from the U.S.A. GLENS GARDEN.

6. Cut back your tall perennials once they have stopped flowering.

7. Tidy up the Strawberry bed, removing decaying foliage. Stake down runners into pots or into the ground. Remove any unwanted runners.

8. Collect any ripened seeds that you want to save for future use.

9. Start to pot up any herbs which need to be brought indoors over the Winter months.

10.

SOWING/PLANTING IN SEPTEMBER

1. Winter hardy lettuce can be sown in September as well as hardy Spring Onions.
2. Spring Cabbages can be planted out now.
3. Parsnips will taste better if left in the ground until after a frost.

OTHER JOBS IN SEPTEMBER

1. Prune Summer fruiting Raspberries.
2.  Runners from Strawberries can be planted now.
3. Add manure, lime or green manures to your soil, depending on each beds condition and your crop rotation.