There are still a lot of jobs to do in the garden in November, particularly in this mild weather; there are seeds to sow, crops to harvest & there is the general tidying up of the vegetable garden.
Sow in November:
broad-bean-rows-seedlings
Plant in November:
November Harvest:
fresh-celery
big-sprouts-below
Other gardening jobs to be done in November:
dig
- digging, if it is not too wet, otherwise leave till the new year
- applying well rotted farm yard manure or compost to ground where next year’s crop will be peas, beans, onions, leeks, celery or spinach
- clear fallen leaves and put them on the compost heap
- collect, clean and store bean supports
- check stored crops & remove any which are starting to decay
- keep an eye out for pigeons & slugs which may be a problem in November
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Jobs for October include:
Plant: garlic
Sow directly into the ground:
- swiss chard
- perpetual spinach
- mixed winter salad leaves
- broad beans – variety Aquadulce
Sow under cloches:
cabbage-seedlings
Plant out:
- spring cabbage
- perpetual spinach
- chicory
- radicchio
Harvest before the frosts:
- french beans
- runner beans
runner-bean
- broad beans
- lettuce
- courgettes
courgette
- marrows
- carrots
- sweetcorn
- cabbages
- peas
- main crop potatoes
- autumn raspberries
- apples and pears
Other October Jobs:
- draw soil around leeks and celariac
- cut off this summer’s fruiting blackberry & raspberry canes at ground level & tie in new canes
raspberry-knot
- order new fruit bushes for winter planting
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Jobs for May in the Vegetable Garden will be dominated by watering, if rain does not come soon!
Sow:
place-seed-in-trench
- directly into the ground – peas, lettuce, salad leaves, spring onions, beetroot, rocket, carrots, coriander & kohlrabi
Harden off:
celery plants to set outdoors at end of month
celery-plant
Plant into ground at end of month:
beans, squash, courgettes, sweetcorn & pumpkins
courgette-ready-to-plant
Crop:
- cabbages & spinach left from winter
- new-crop lettuce, salad leaves, rocket and spring onions
Other jobs:
thinning-out-beetroot
rake-seed-bed
broad-bean-plant-Optica
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Temperatures are dropping, strong winds are blowing leaves and twigs off the trees and it is time for an autumn tidy-up in the kitchen garden.
The lush summer growth of courgettes and runner beans is still allowing the plants to fruit, so we will leave them until they have finished producing, although they are starting to look untidy.
The main autumn jobs in the kitchen garden include:
- Weeding: Weeds are easily pulled up when the soil is damp – but we avoid treading on the soil, particularly at this time of year when it paddles easily and the soil structure is then damaged. The walkways come into their own, as we can access the garden, and keep our feet dry and the soil un-trampled!
falling-leaves on walkways
- Collecting up bits & pieces – such as cloches, pots, and netting. These will be cleaned down and put away until next year. In fact everything that is not in use should be removed. Even bricks & stakes that had a perfectly useful purpose in the growing season should be cleared. All these objects provide shelter for garden pests such as slugs, snails, rats and mice, or overwintering sites for insects and fungi.
tidy up!
- Staking the sprouts and kale will be finished off, so the stalks are tied to the stake. These brassicas get top-heavy when they are wet and could topple over.
- Autumn Lawn Care – the most essential job is to remove the leaves as often as possible. It is easier to do this when the leaves are dry, when they can be mowed or raked up. If leaves are left to pile up and get wet, they become mushy and are then difficult to collect up. Heaps of leaves covering a lawn obscure the light, so that the grass will go yellow, eventually die & leave bare patches. Weeds and moss will then colonise these bare areas.
collecting-leaves
- Collecting leaves from vegetable beds - although leaves eventually rot and provide nutrients it is better to remove them to the compost heap & return them to the beds later on as compost. This keeps the beds tidy and pest free.
autumn-leaves
- Pruning soft fruit - if not already done. Strawberry leaves are cut back to the crowns, so that all the old diseased leaves are discarded and fresh new ones can grow to take the plants through the winter. The fruit bearing canes of the summer fruiting raspberries are cut down, and the two strongest new canes are left.
An autumn tidy up in the kitchen garden is well worthwhile, making the garden a more enjoyable place to be over the winter.
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The Vegetable Garden in August is full of veg in their prime.
Pick off unhealthy leaves
The vegetable garden should be inspected regularly for pests and disease. Any badly infected or diseased leaves should be removed. Do not put them on the compost heap, remove them completely from the vegetable garden so that the pest or disease does not spread.
Stake vegetables
Beans, tomatoes, peppers, and chili’s can be staked to keep the fruit off the ground and prevent fruit rot. When the vegetable plants are standing up the air can circulate around them, preventing the muggy conditions that allow fungal diseases to develop.
Water vegetables when necessary
- Make sure vegetables in the garden have enough water
- Water vegetables at soil level, rather than wetting the leaves which can encourage leaf disease.
Sow vegetable seed
- Parsley
- Perpetual spinach
- beet
- radicchio
- cabbages
- lettuce
- Salad Leaves
- Chard
- Onion Hi Keeper
- Onion White Lisbon Winter Hardy Spring Onions
Buy Hessian sacks for potato storage
August is a busy tim in the vegetable garden
July is the month when all the hard work in the vegetable garden bares fruit. A lot of time will be spent harvesting fruit and vegetables.
flowering-courgettes
Sow directly into the ground:
Kale, spinach beet, Chinese greens, cabbages, winter lettuce & winter radish.
land cress variegated
These vegetables will supply fresh green leaves later on in the year if planted in July
Harvest:
Soft fruit, such as raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, currants, tayberries.
soft-fruit-bowl
French & runner beans, peas, potatoes, cabbages, spinach, beetroot, courgettes.
branch-runner-beans
Salad leaves, lettuces, radish & tomatoes
butterhead-lettuce
Other jobs:
- Hoe to keep weeds down & conserve soil water
- Water plants regularly
- Ridge up potatoes
- cut down old raspberry canes when they have finished fruiting & tie in new canes
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June is a busy month with lots of vegetable gardening jobs:
Sow:
- continue to sow directly into the soil french & runner beans, peas, beetroot, carrots,spinach beet, lettuces and salad leaves.
- plant out seedlings of leeks, cabbages, celariac, courgettes, pumpkins, squash, calabrese, purple sprouting broccoli and outdoor tomatoes
planting-out-leeks
Harvest:
- soft fruit
- broad beans, peas, early potatoes, garlic & shallots
- keep picking salad leaves, rocket and cut-&-come again lettuce
Optica-broad-bean-pods
Other jobs for June:
- dry shallots & garlic in sun
- mulch fruit bushes to retain moisture & smother weeds
- stake tomatoes, peas and dwarf beans
- tie raspberry canes to wires.
- net soft fruit against birds
- use enviromesh to keep insects & birds off brassicas & carrots
- collect rain water & use on veg in dry weather
Enjoy the vegetable gardening jobs in June!
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There are plenty of jobs to be done in the vegetable garden in February!
Sow:
indoors from seed in trays or pots:
- early beetroot Bietola da Orto Paonazza d’Egitto is ideal for early sowings as matures quickly. Good for children to grow.
- broad beans
- spinach Spinach Perpetual is a prolific strain of spinach beet.
- summer cabbage Savoy Cabbage Estoril seeds can be sown under glass in February, and planted out when plants have 2-3 true leaves.
- calabrese for summer cropping
- globe artichoke
- lettuce sowing a few seed each week will give a continuous supply of lettuce
outside from seed under cloches in mild areas – early beetroot, lettuce, spring onions, salad leaves, spinach
plant-shallots
in the garden as soon as the ground is workable – onion sets, shallots and garlic
push-onion-in
Plant
rhubarb-patch-March
rhubarb & cover to force early stalks
Jerusalem artichoke tubers
Harvest:
purple-broccoli-spear
Early sprouting broccoli, cabbages, sprouts, kale, leeks, celery and parsnips
cabbage-in-snow
Other Jobs:
- chit potatoes
- apply fertiliser to ground before sowing early crops, to overwintered vegetables, to soft fruit bushes
- cut down autumn fruiting raspberry canes to ground level and mulch
- dig the garden if the soil is dry
dig
The jobs to be done in the vegetable garden in February complete the circle of sowing and harvesting!
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The weather in January means there are fewer outside jobs to do in the vegetable garden, and productive time can be spent inside planning this season’s crops.
Seeds to Sow in January:
Crops to Harvest in January:
- cabbages
- cabbage
- sprouts
- kale
- leeks
- parsnips
Other January Jobs:
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What to do in the garden in December depends on the weather &, more particularly, on how wet the ground is. It is not good to tread on wet soil, because it ruins the soil structure.
In December sow:
set-onion-on-mark
In December crop:
- celery
- leeks
- parsnips
- sprouts
- cabbages
- Jerusalem artichokes
- spinach beet
In December protect from cold winds & frost (with fleece or cloches):
December is a good time to browse catalogues to see what vegetable seeds & plants are on offer, when it is too wet to get on the garden in December.
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