Autumn tasks

[Scarlet]

Well despite the glorious weather today Autumn is a hairs breath away.
I've been busy planting foxgloves ...,sorry it should have been elephant garlic.

Anyway, what jobs have you got lined up for the next few weeks beside saving seed?

I'm toying with the idea of using one greenhouse to grow garlic. Sow October and lift mid June? I also have a tulip order to plant up.....

[ameno]

Nothing much, to be honest. I have plenty of winter tasks ahead of me at my new allotment, and I probably ought to cut down this year's summer raspberry canes at some point, but other than that autumn is just picking and relaxing for me.

[veggiechicken]

I'm slowly clearing out the GHs, as each tomato/cucumber finishes. I spread the compost they're in on the GH beds and fill some pots ready for sowing with winter salads and mangetout.
I've already sown a few MFBs with carrots and beetroot and these will move into the GH for overwintering.
Also, thinking about growing trays of microgreens/CACA every week using up old seeds. That plan's still on the drawing board............there may be a new thread on the horizon.

I still have 100 lilies, 100 gladioli and 100 dahlias to find homes for - plus the 25 Byzantine gladioli that arrived yesterday and some tulips to plant in November..

[Greenleaves]

I really need to come up with a plan of action for the third plot, I have not been over for 4 weeks due to our summer break so no doubt we'll need to do plenty of weeding before I do anything

[Bren In Pots]

Spreading dalek compost on empty beds and Potting on winter lettuce that will go in the GH beds once the toms have finished. Then just general tidying up.

[burnie]

I shall be mostly Cod fishing in the Autumn and Winter, plus out with my camera taking wildlife pictures, the Red Deer rut will be next on the agenda along with arriving winter migrant birds. It will be another month yet before I put the greenhouse to sleep for the winter, still have decent temperatures and lots of plants still producing flowers and fruit.

[Penellype]

I'm intending to have a clear out of old plants that are clearly past their best - some of my strawberry plants must be over 10 years old and hardly produced any fruit this year. There are also some perennial flowers that are outgrowing their spaces and need lifting and dividing when they finish flowering. I may dig up one of the 2 rhubarb plants at the plot and put some in a bucket to force like I did last year. There are also some fruit bushes (a blueberry, a kiwiberry, a chilean guava and more strawberries) to pot up and find homes for.

Other than that, probably just harvesting and clearing up to keep everything tidy.

[Kirk]

Replacing a retaining wall/edging - actually found the best way for me to do it so may use method on other requirements. It works well.

Then put another, bit lower in front of that. Then add compost and whatever to create a small, longish bed. What to do with the bed is still unknown. Was going to out the saffron crocus there but planted those elsewhere (at least for now).

Have some mini daffodils and so iris so they will go in part. Intend to get a few more at intervals. Cycle to St Albans on their market day and there is a stall selling bulbs etc at 10 for £1, get £2 worth each visit. Just fun.

Need two "paths" to step across through this anticipated bed.
Corner may get a hedgehog hut (homemade) and a collection to sticks to cover it.

Had more extreme thought of a small conservatory/lean to for starting plants off. Trouble with that is that it sort of bumps into the raised bed. That would be more long term.

[SarrissUK]

I still need to get the plastic on to my polytunnel, tulip bulbs that need a home will arrive soon, need horse manure on the growing space at home once the tomatoes have finished and I have pallet collars to put in two raised beds along the fence at home to replace the ikea bags that have served me well for two years

[bikermike]

Building a bed. Shifting the 8 bags of compost from the car (some for this bed, some for the next).

Sowing some saved green manure seeds. Clearing back a bed or two. Wondering if my sweetcorn are ready yet.

Need to work out which bed will be my winter bed (i'll put garlic and broad beans in and put chicken wire over to deter animals. But it's currently holding up the remnants of the peas/mangetoute).

[Chestnut]

I think it’s going to take me 2-3 more weeks to get on top of the weeding.... garlic and onions yet to go in, and apples to pick.
After that, there’s shifting the muck heap onto beds (but not before the pumpkins have been harvested from the muck heap!), fixing a couple of lengths of path edging, and maybe build a fruit cage if spring hasn’t arrived by then!

[jackarmy]

Gonna catch the rat thats moved into my garage/workshop/potting shed/mancave and dispose of the beast.

[Scarlet]

I've had a serious rat problem this year it's taken me ages to get rid of them and as soon as the cold weather comes they will be back
Pen has made me realise it's probably a good idea to lift and split my rhubarb soon....,

[veggiechicken]

Most of my rhubarb is rubbish and not worth splitting - so I'm planting flowers around the plants. By next year, it'll be a flower bed with rhubarb, perennial kale, blackcurrants and elephant garlic in there somewhere.

[Mr Bones]

We've had some mega-busy days this past week, fetched a couple of trailer loads of horse manure (one well rotted, the other freshly picked up from the field). Turned and mixed the 6x12 compost - heaping it at one end. Sectioned the bay and started a new load of compost which involved mixing straw and hay with the fresh horse muck and damping to get it started. Topped up woodchips on pathways.
Sown winter density lettuce and spring onions.