UNITE Leisure Gardenwise
Pleasures of the autumn garden
Autumn is with us once again. A season of beautiful changing landscapes. A time of harvesting vegetables, fruits and flowers to savour and enjoy. Gardening now is a real pleasure.
Identify and label herbaceous perennials while they can still be recognised. This will help when dividing and replanting. Planting now allows new roots to be made before winter. More tender plants such as Fuchsias and Penstemons are best divided or moved in the spring. With all your planting incorporate a mycorhizal product. Applied as powder, liquid or gel it helps root growth. Homemade compost has similar properties so use this as well.
Plant flowering bulbs from now onwards and Tulips from mid November into early December. You can plant directly into borders or containers making sure drainage is very good. A large selection of varieties are available. I particularly like Narcissus Thalia, Tête-à-tête and February Gold.
Machines no longer needed till spring can be cleaned and serviced. Petrol engines should filled and run on synthetic fuel for a few minutes before being stored. Alternatively mix an additive into the petrol tank. This avoids damage to
engines from long term storage and easier starting next season. Tools should be stored clean and oiled. Tool and machine repairs can be left till poor weather stops work outside.
A protected growing space like a greenhouse or polytunnel is a very useful asset. Cost wise a DIY polytunnel is the least expensive per square metre. Properly made they are very resilient to wind damage. I have constructed many polytunnels and all have been successful. Most people are capable of building these structures.
Greenhouses are available secondhand at very reasonable cost or even free. You have to be prepared to dismantle and reassemble so it’s labour intensive, but cheap.
As autumn progresses more and more leaves will fall. Composting leaves on their own makes leaf mould. Use it to make potting compost and mulches. An easy way to produce it, if space is limited, is to fill large black polythene bags with the leaves. Pack tightly and wait six to twelve months. Shredding the finished leafmould can be useful.
Look out for autumn plant fares and shows. There is an abundance to buy food wise and many plants to make new additions to the garden. Sellers usually ask modest prices. They’re a great day out as well.
37 uniteLANDWORKER Autumn 2023
n By Phil Saunders
Clifford Harper
Getty Images
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