Here are 5 key Autumn Gardening tips that will bring delicious rewards for you, the health of your garden & vitally give back to & help sustain local wildlife now & into the future.
1. Cut your wildflower meadow.
Using a strimmer or scythe, leave for a couple days then rake up all material & remove, then finish by mowing as short as possible. Scuff up the soil in places, sow yellow rattle seed & tread in. This plant also known as meadow maker will help more wildflowers establish over time by weakening the grass. That’s it, job done until next year! In the photo above you can see our small meadow after its annual trim, it will look a little raw for some weeks but wildflowers will reap the rewards down the line. The green line you see was the mown path!
2. Autumn Onion & Garlic Sets.
If you haven’t ordered yours yet, now’s the time! Fruit Hill Farm have a great selection currently. I find over-wintering onions do well for me & it’s great to have onions ready for BBQ’s next Summer. We add a good 2 inches of compost to our no dig beds before planting and throw down chicken manure pellets.
3. Hedge Cutting.
Now’s the time to cut all hedges as birds have had their young and moved on. A good clean cut is needed so make sure your shears or hedge cutter is sharp before getting stuck in. Do the cutting on a dry day to avoid any fungal spores getting into the fresh cuts. If you can, push the clippings under the hedge, its a free much and will lock carbon in, oh and it saves a lot of unnecessary work heaving all the material around!
4. Mulching.
As we continue to harvest plants cover the coming weeks & some start to naturally die back, you might to see areas of bare soil exposed once more. Sow Winter green manures or spread compost to cover the ground, essential to protect it from heavy Winter showers, sustain healthy soil life & build fertility for next years growing!
5. Order bulbs.
Spring flowering bulbs like crocus or daffodils bring such joy to the darkest months as well as fodder for any early emerging pollinators. But make absolutely sure your bulbs are not treated with neocotinoids which will harm the very insects you might be hoping to nurture. Also go for varieties that actually produce pollen or nectar as not all do. Daffodils for instance are mostly useless for pollinators but there are some that are such as Pseudo Narcissus as well as Jean D’Arc & Yellow Mammoth Crocuses that we’d recommend. Fruit Hill Farm are again a great local supplier of organic bulbs.
Let us know how you get on with these Autumn Gardening tips! Need some extra help!? We offer virtual gardening advice sessions, workshops & design services. For more visit:
https://twogreenshoots.com/product-category/two-green-shoots/virtual-gardening
