What to do in September – 2

Ok, so my mental note of not sowing and growing too many seeds due to an over abundance of produce went completely out of the window! I harvested loads and loads yet again!  Not that I am complaining,  in a time when the cost of food tends to sky rocket through the roof, I am thankful for the ability to provide food for my family.

Whilst I am in the process and harvesting, storing and preserving my produce, I still need to keep on top of necessary jobs that need to be undertaken this time of year.  Clearing beds, transplanting new plants, improving the soil condition are just a few jobs that need to be done.  The following information will also outline some other jobs that will help you get more organised this month.

Jobs to do………in September

• Lift maincrop potatoes and leave to dry in the sun for a few hours to dry the skin. This makes them last longer when being stored.
• Perform a general tidy up of the plot in preparation for any structural work that needs to be completed during the Autumn and Winter months.
• Protect squashes and pumpkins that are laying on the ground by placing them on a tile or suchlike. This prevents them from rotting. It may be worthwhile removing some of the leaves around the fruit to gain maximum sun to help with ripening.
• Keep harvesting your vegetables to encourage production. In some cases, the more you pick the more you get!
• Remove as many leaves that you can from tomato plants to help maximise the amount of sun that the unripe fruit need.
• Keep adding contents to the compost bin, ensuring to add an equal amount of brown waste and green. Turn regularly to aid decompostion.
• If not already done so, make a new strawberry bed with the runners from the existing plants.
• Prune blackcurrant bushes, removing all the woody growth that has produce the fruit this year.
• Transplant any spring cabbages that you may have started growing last month.
• Continue to water all veg – especially in dry weather.
• Protect delicate crops for colder weather such as lettuces with cloches or mini polythene tunnels.
• Although you may be over run with beans now, continue to harvest them while they are still tender to prevent the plant from producing tough, stringy beans.
• After beans and peas have finally finished their production of crops, cut the plant down at root level, leaving the nitrogen rich roots in the soil.
• Keep an eye out now for blight. At the first sign on potato plant leaves, cut the haulms off and burn immediately. Do not place them on the compost heap as you run the risk of the spores spreading more. The potatoes underneath the earth will still be fine for a few more weeks if the haulms were cut off at the first sign of blight.

What to sow………Indoors and outdoors

• Autumn and Winter salads
• Radish
• Chinese Cabbage
• Pak Choi
• Kale
• Kohl Rabi
• Hardy Lettuce
• Spring Onion
• Spinach
• Turnips
• Winter radish

What to plant………in September

• Winter Brassicas
• Chives
• Kale
• Kohl rabi
• Lettuces
• Garlic
• Overwintering Onion sets

Crops in season now

• Courgettes
• Cauliflowers
• Cabbages
• Peas
• Beans
• Carrots
• Turnips
• Potatoes
• Spring onions
• Lettuces
• Chard
• Radish
• Kale
• Sweetcorn
• Tomatoes
• Chillies
• Peppers
• Cucumbers
• Spinach
• Autumn Raspberries
• Marrows
• Shallots
• Kohl Rabi
• Onions

Happy harvestin’

Debb

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