Jobs to do in the Garden in September

– Clean and disinfect bird feeders and tables, then refill them with bird seed to help support garden birds through the colder months.

– Protect your pond from falling leaves by covering it with netting to keep water clear and healthy.

– Help courgettes, pumpkins, squash, and marrows ripen by cutting back leaves that block sunlight from the fruits. Elevate any fruit resting on the ground using wood or slate to prevent rot.

– It’s a good time to prune late-summer flowering shrubs like buddleia, fuchsia, hydrangea, and roses. Climbing and rambling roses can also be trimmed once flowering has finished—unless they’re repeat-bloomers.

– If you haven’t yet summer-pruned your apple trees, do so now to encourage healthy growth and fruit production next year.

– Divide herbaceous perennials to invigorate them and multiply your stock of plants.

– Keep an eye out for pests in the greenhouse and garden. Treat infestations promptly with your preferred bug control solution.

– Reseed patchy areas of lawn, rake out dead thatch, and aerate the soil with a fork as part of your autumn lawn maintenance. Use grass seed to help recover bare spots.

– Sweep driveways, patios, and paths, and consider applying a surface cleaner to remove moss, mildew, or algae.

– Main crop potatoes should now be ready to harvest. Store them in a cool, dark, and well-ventilated spot—ideally in hessian or paper sacks.

– Sow hardy annuals like cornflower, pot marigold, flax, larkspur, forget-me-not, scabiosa, and poppies now for vibrant spring blooms next year.

– Add a layer of Gro Green Compost or another soil improver to nourish your beds over the winter. Apply it to moist soil or dig it in.

– Sow crops like kale, mizuna, pak choi, and lamb’s lettuce for a nutritious winter harvest. Now’s also the time to start hardy peas and broad beans for early picking next year.

– Close your greenhouse vents in the evenings to keep warmth inside as night temperatures begin to drop.

– Fill pots and containers with colourful autumn and winter bedding plants like aster, chrysanthemum, colchicum, cyclamen, liriope muscari, rudbeckia, and winter violas.

– Secure newly planted trees using stakes and ties, or install tree guards. It’s also a great time to tie in any untamed climbers or vines.

– Be prepared for early frosts by stocking up on frost fleece or bubble insulation to shield tender plants when the temperature drops.

– Tackle weeds while they’re still actively growing with an autumn application of weed killer for best results.

– If your clay soil is compacted, improve structure and drainage now with gypsum or horticultural grit before the ground becomes unworkable.

– Protect brassicas from birds and cabbage white butterflies by covering them securely with netting.