September Gardening Tips

As Summer moves into Autumn, September is all about the Three P’s! Pruning, Planting and Planning! Plus making the most of the remaining warmth as the season starts to cool. gardening doesn’t have to be a solitary activity whether you garden as a family or as part of a group – get social with it and enjoy this month!

Top Gardening Tips for September

• Prune late summer flowering shrubs to keep them flowering over the next few months.
• Plan ahead and collect and sow seeds from perennials and hardy annuals, and any other plants and keep dry until they’re ready to planted next year.
• Plant spring flowering bulbs now, either in containers or borders. Visit the store to see the full range of favourites from daffodils and tulips to crocus and snowdrops.
• Plant any winter veg packs that you want to enjoy later in the year and cover any leafy veg with netting top keep birds out
• Dig up any remaining potatoes before slug damage ruins them. Store potatoes in a dry container like a sack or a box until you’re ready to eat.
• If you have a garden pond, make sure you net now to avoid leaf fall in the next few weeks and save you a job of scooping out later in Autumn.
• Be water-wise – water in the evenings or early mornings to reduce water loss through evaporation. And don’t forget to keep bird baths and garden ponds topped up in warm weather.
• Still time to prune plum, cherry and peach trees. Pruning them straight after harvesting while they are in leaf to reduce the risk of diseases.
• Keep watering containers regularly as well as new plants. If you can use rain or grey water where possible.
• Reduce indoor plant watering, but keep an eye on your plants for the compost drying out.
• Mow your lawn less frequently during the autumn months, this will help your lawn be stronger going in to the autumn and winter months
• Apply an autumn lawn feed, which is high in potassium (not nitrogen – this will result in soft growth which will be prone to disease in the Autumn weather) Do this after scarifying and aerating but before applying a top dressing.

Growing Together

The HTA’s ‘Gardening is good for you’ campaign is all about gardening together this September – bringing people together to talk gardening, sharing their gardening experiences and the crops and flowers they grow.

Togetherness has great value for our mental wellbeing, relieving boredom and providing opportunities to interact with others. Plus it’s great to share gardening ideas and experiences as well as learn valuable skills and discover exciting new plants.

Volunteering at your local community or charity garden is also a great way to enjoy being part of the local community.

To find out more, visit the HTA’s September, ‘Growing together – let’s get social’ page HERE.

Million Gardening Moments

Million Gardening Moments

The HTA is encouraging the nation to get planting this Autumn with its ‘million planting moments’ campaign. Taking place every September the aim of the week is to encourage everyone young and old, expert and novice to take the opportunity to plant at the traditional ‘natural’ planting time of year. The week culminates in Million Planting Moments Day on the last Sunday in September.

The idea of the campaign is to highlight the huge contribution plants make to our health and wellbeing, the environment and our communities. Want to find out more? Click HERE.