Gardener's Diary is a regular feature of Age-Net run by our Deputy Editor

Rosemary Martin

 

September 2009

 

Make the most of the last few weeks of summer by visiting some late flower shows, having a barbecue, or just plain lazing in the garden, because all too soon the days will be shorter and summer will be just a memory.. 

Me, I am following the dogs` example and watching the butterflies flying haphazardly around the garden.

Why not be thrifty and collect your own flower seed for next year?

This is a good time of year to evaluate your garden. Make a list of things that will help you improve your garden next year, such as:-

• Is my garden safe for myself, family and visitors such as grandchildren?
• Is the garden getting too much to manage comfortably? If so, how can I ease the workload?
• Are the boundaries safe and secure?
• Are the garden ornaments and shed secure?
• Are the trees secure and storm proof?

 

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Jobs for the month - September

House plants

Cut down on watering and feeding gradually this month, until the winter minimum is reached. Ensure plants are in tip top condition and sited correctly, which will see them through the winter months.

Lawns

Mower blades should be raised a notch to give a longer cut, and the lawn will benefit from a good raking to remove any loose cuttings and runners from creeping weeds. Finally apply an autumn weed and feed, taking care to follow instructions regarding the composting of treated clippings. September is also a good time for remedying any deficiencies that come to light in the summer months.  

Herbaceous borders

Continue dead-heading flowers, and weeding and hoeing, to keep the borders looking neat. You can still sow many biennials straight into the ground, such as Cornflowers, Foxgloves and Sweet Williams, and they will get away to an early start next year. I collect seeds from the various plants I want, jumble them all up and throw them into the borders. The result is great and I can always thin out those I don`t want.

Vegetables

The ground is gradually becoming visible again now that some crops have finished and have been cleared to the compost heap. Most of the summer crops, beans peas, cougettes, sweetcorn etc. will be finishing now, but with winter crops looking good, all is not lost. Leeks, swede, parsnips, brussels and sprouting broccoli will soon be offering themselves up as replacements for the table. Make the last sowings this month for hardy spring onions and Chinese cabbages, and plant out Japanese onions and garlic to overwinter. Sow Broccoli, cauliflower and onions for overwintering under glass. Complete the harvesting and storage of maincrop potatoes and onions and dig the ground over when cleared to expose grubs and pests to the weather and to birds.

Fruit

Continue to pick late raspberries, blackberries, loganberries etc. When the late raspberries have finished they can be cut down level with the ground, as they will grow and fruit again next year within the season. Summer fruiting varieties should have this years fruiting canes cut to the ground and the new canes tied in which will fruit next summer. Continue to pick and store apples and pears when ready and give any final pruning to gooseberry and currant bushes, to clear old wood and open up the centre of the bushes.

Ponds

Aquatic plants will start to die down this month, leaving the pond looking a bit worse for wear. I usually bite the bullet and give nature a helping hand by cutting foliage down before it becomes an eyesore. I can then put the wire mesh lid over the pond to keep the falling leaves from adding to the rotting plants and producing gases that can harm the fish. Oxygenating plants can be thrown out too as they are more hindrance than help in the winter, because they become inactive as oxygen-producers, but contribute to the production of toxic gases as some of their growth decays.

Wildlife

September - the month of the sleepy wasps and small animals getting ready to hibernate. There are many more wasps than usual this year and we have had great success with our home made wasp traps which have caught literally hundreds of them. Hang up a plastic bottle with a couple of small holes cut into the sides and filled with a cup of syrupy liquid (I found honey mixed with water to be the favourite). Using a pastry brush, paint some neat honey around the insides of the holes to tempt the wasps in..  See photo on the right!

Bird feeders and the bird table have been cleaned up ready for another season of feeding the bird population. I make "fat balls" for them by gently heating lard, mixing in bird seed and forming balls when cooled, then putting them in the netting that oranges and onions come in, and hanging them around the garden..