Late-Autumn Gardening Do’s and Don’ts

Transition season is almost over in the gardening world, but if you haven’t yet set your yard in order, let us help with this check list of do’s and don’ts. Some of them take only a minute, but they could help protect your garden over winter, and save you hours of work come spring!

Do’s

1.Plant a container with spring bulbs and place it in a sheltered part of the garden (hint: raise it on ‘pot feet’ to help with drainage).

2. Sow broad beans and spring onion seed (sow the spring onions under cover if you live in a cold winter region). The seed will germinate now and have a head-start in spring. 

3. Pot up rooted herb pieces and grow them on in the greenhouse or on a sunny window sill inside – they’ll supply you with tangy freshness all winter and spring.

4. Pull up autumn weeds before they drop their seed and make a new chore for you come spring.

5. Make rich leaf mould compost for the garden by placing autumn leaves into a compost bin of their own. Mix in a high nitrogen product (such as sterilised sheep pellets), then water, cover, and leave to mature for at least 12 months.

6. Leave piles of twigs in sheltered places (such as under a hedge or shrub). They will create a winter home for garden helpers such as beetles, ladybirds, and spiders.

7. Cover tender perennials with frost cloth (hint: use clothes pegs to hold it in place).

8. Scatter lime onto lawns and gardens where a pH test shows it’s needed. Lime takes several months to become available to plants so, by spring, it will be powering-up.

9. Mulch garden beds with compost or pea straw to prevent soil nutrients from washing away, and to protect microorganisms.

10. Plant a cover crop such as oats, lupin, or buckwheat, in empty garden beds. It can be chopped back into the garden in spring where it will break down and act as a fertilizer.

Don’ts

11. Don’t leave dying summer plants in your greenhouse. They will only attract fungal diseases that will reactivate when conditions warm up in spring.

12. With the odd exception, avoid fertilising the garden. If you do, you’ll encourage tender new growth that will be ‘burned’ by frost over the winter months.

13. Don’t leave fallen fruit on the ground. It attracts disease and provides shelter for pests and disease.

14. Don’t leave young trees and shrubs un-staked – winter gales have the power to batter them until their roots are damaged.

15. Don’t make the last lawn cut of winter as short as your autumn cuts. A longer lawn offers more protection for the roots of the grass.

16. Don’t leave your compost uncovered over winter. Excess moisture can cause anaerobic decay, creating a smelly, slimy pile.

17. Don’t forget to bring your winter flowering cacti inside where they can put on a bright display!

18. Don’t stand on the garden as the temperatures drop – weight applied to wet, cold ground compresses soil, preventing much-needed oxygen from reaching down to plants’ roots.

19. Don’t leave garden tools and wheelbarrows out in the elements where they will rust in wet conditions. Instead, clean them, oil metal parts, and store undercover. If tools need a sharpen, the off-season is the time to attend to the task.

20. Don’t be in a hurry to snip dry seed heads from your flowers. They provide seed for our feathered friends, protection for the plants beneath, and are a source of new, self-seeded plants, come spring.

Successful gardeners know that don’ts are just as important as do’s!