Friday 9 October 2020

Gardening jobs for October - Preparing the garden for winter.

I picked up a gardening magazine this month to find out what I need to do to prepare the garden for winter. 

I've never been that much of a gardener, more a give it a go and and see what happens. In the past we've had work and kids, so the garden has been low maintenance, shrubs, bulbs and seasonal bedding. For the past 10 years, living abroad, I've experimented with gardening and growing vegetables. It hasn't been easy in Dubai, but you'd be surprised by what has grown in the sand.

During lockdown I was back in the UK and in our former family home. The garden had been pretty much neglected, along with the house while we were away and the weather was perfect for growing my own veg, plus I actually had the length of time to see the season through.

The lawn.

The first thing I want to do is empty the sand pit and I'll be using the sand to level off parts of the lawn where I'd removed paving slabs from. The tip is to work the sand into the lawn with a hard brush. The lawn is actually more weed/moss than grass, so a perfect job isn't required, more experimental. The last of the grass seed has gone down after what I hope is the final mow for now, I've already adjusted the mower for a higher cut should the opportunity arise. Just need to keep the front lawn free of leaves or I'll lose the grass again I've spent all summer nurturing.



Planting.

I've been working out which seeds I already have that I can plant in the green house over the winter for a spring crop.

It's peas, beans and sweet peas, plus planting out the bulbs in the front garden. The back garden will be more focused on vegetables and fruits. I've been collecting seeds over the summer, it'll be hit and miss what pops up in the garden next year as nothing is labelled.

I need to stagger planting next year. All my tomatoes, beans and peas were harvested too close together, I'd like to try and spread this out through out the season a bit more.


I need a reminder to open/close/water in the green house daily/weekly

Jobs left to do

The sunflower is still going. I'd like to dry the seeds for next year, but I'm going to leave the heads on for the birds. The geranium needs cutting back to the roots and is good for the compost bin. The hydrangea shouldn't be cut back as the dead flowers provide cover for the new ones against the frost.




The bay and olive trees will need wrapping up for winter soon. The bay tree only needs light pruning throughout late spring and early summer. It's been happy here during the summer and hopefully it'll be the right spot for the winter also. I've also moved all the garden ornaments to the bay tree, so they can be used again next year.

I've put winter bedding in the hanging basket, it does get watered from the rain where it is. I've out a small plant tray in the bottom of the basket so the water doesn't just run through.

Here's what I did in September My September Garden



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