Jobs for the Month: October

Now is the time to get those Autumn Allium sets planted if not already done. Here at the Kitchen Garden I plant them on the now cleared Potato patch. This ensures the ground is not too rich but nicely dug and with a nice tilth. I do add a dressing of garden compost though to get em kick started, and a sprinkle of Organic Root Vegetable and Onion Fertiliser.

All the beds are gradually cleared with the green matter being shredded and composted. I will add some Organic Compost Maker as I add layers of green and brown waste. I have enough waste to create a new huge heap ready for use as a general soil improver next year.

I have been helping Dave by clearing up some of those leaves and popping them in a handy Composting ‘Bag' Kit.

These have holes and are extra big and strong, water them well, tie the top tight, and you will be rewarded next year with crumbly leaf mould to use in potting mixes or as extra organic mulch/matter for your beds.

I do not even need to bend and stoop with the Rake and Scoop (unfortunately, now discontinued by our supplier, but soon to be replaced by the Grab-O-Saurus in our new catalogue.

Dave was most impressed. I am careful though to make sure I only collect from under those deciduous trees and not from round  the ‘acid’ Rhododendrons and Camelias that fill much of the grounds surrounding the Kitchen Garden. The leaves from the acid lovers are collected separately , piled up for a good while and then used to mulch our other ‘acid’ lovers, Blueberries.

The short-day crops are coming on now. Spinach in a raised bed is now cloched. Greenhouse raised Chard and Beet are moved to the cold frame in readiness for those newly emptied beds. All  these new arrivals will be protected with fleece and hoops ( see Harrod Horticultural's great range of Crop Protection materials).

I do not take chances with overwintering seedlings in the cold frame and put a squirt of Organic Slug Defence Gel around the trays. Check the bottom of all those plastic pots and module trays as the make the perfect hidey holes for nasty critters.

In the greenhouse the tomato plants are cleared. Irrigation systems  lifted , cleaned and stored and glass shined. Later comes a scrub down of all staging, walls and floor. This will ensure I start next season with a clean slate reducing the probability of virus etc. Do not forget the greenhouse guttering this time of year; blockages of leaves on the outside can create leaks inside, and often in places you wouldn’t expect!

New apple trees have been ordered and will be planted out later this month. Espalier trees are supported with Gripple and Wire set ups which can be customised to your particular position, used with big posts these are easy to chop and change. I will dig a nice big planting hole and add some organic matter before firming in really well (we have very sandy free-draining soil).Be sure when choosing trees to get the right ones for your situation, the right groups for pollination and your supports sorted out.

Be sure to keep a check on that stored veg. Tomatoes set to ripen can easily mould, so pick out and use or discard any suspect fruit that’s split or bruised. Potatoes stored correctly last a good while, don’t let them get too cold in unheated storage spaces though, as they will go sweet and nasty. Be especially vigilant with your spud sacks if you suffered the dreaded ‘blight’.  Likewise check carrots, apples, beets, etc. regularly.

As you can imagine there's plenty still to keep me occupied and warm on those chilly, windy east coast autumn days.

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