September brings a change of season. The days are getting shorter, the temperatures are dropping and the air smells of apples and wet grass.
There is still time in early September to get your last sowings of spring greens in the ground. Keep sowing winter lettuce, orientals, lambs lettuce, spinach, coriander, dill, etc. as well as hardy annual flowers for next spring. After mid month you can sow broad beans and round-seeded peas that will grow up early next year (check the descriptions of individual varieties to make sure they are suitable for autumn-sowing).
Not sure what to do in your garden as the season begins to wind down? Here are some of our suggestions:
- September is a time to reflect on the busy summer months in your garden and to reap the rewards as you harvest your fruits and vegetables of your patch
- Instead of clearing out the beds of spent vegetables completely, try cutting them off at the base and leaving the roots in the ground. Your soil will be grateful for the additional organic matter
- Reduce watering your tomatoes and peppers to encourage ripening
- Harvest squashes and pumpkins after they have changed colour – ‘cure’ them in a warm dry place for a couple of weeks to toughen the skin and increase storage life
- Mulch any gaps or around plants that will stay in the ground over winter with loose materials like woodchip, leaf mould or grass clippings to protect the soil and keep in moisture
- Save seed from some of your favourite flowers like Cosmos, Calendula or Californian Poppy – dry them indoors and store in a labelled paper bag in a cool dry place
- Preserve any veg gluts by pickling, fermenting, freezing and jarring
- Sow hardy annual flowers like Ammi or Snapdragons for early blooms next spring
- Do an inventory of your seeds, asking what worked in your garden and what didn’t and what changes you might make for your 2025 crop plan.