As the nights draw in and the mornings are darker it can feel as though the gardening jobs are coming to an end but there are lots of jobs to be keeping us busy in our gardens and on our allotment plots. Here we will give you some of our ideas of jobs to do for November and into December and any top tips to help you get those jobs done.
Planting spring bulbs
Now is the prefect time to imagine your spring bulbs displays that you want to see in your garden borders and pots. November is the right time to plant your bulbs into the soil ready for the colder temperatures to set it. You can create some wonderful displays using different bulbs that all have different timings for their flowering, this will help keep gardens, pots and containers looking colourful for months to come.
Bulbs to plant for spring flowering
- January-June
- Snowdrops
- Crocus
- Daffodils
- Iris
- Alliums
- Tulips
- Hyacinths
Bare root plants
Following on with things that can be planted during November, now would be a good time to plant any bare root plants. These are much cheaper than normal fully grown plants and are perfect planted up in Multipurpose compost. You can find lots of bare root plants like roses, shrubs and fruit bushes, get them plant up into pots with compost and leave them to start growing over winter and into spring.
Mulching
It’s something we talk about most months, but it is something we wont stop talking about as we believe it’s very important. . . yes that’s right you guessed it, its Mulching! You can now mulch your garden borders, vegetable beds and the tops of pots and containers. You can do this by using either our Magic Mulch or our Soil Improver. Adding a layer of mulch will help retain moisture in the soil, add nutrients, help suppress weeds and act as a slug repellent.
Clearing your garden
As you start to clear your gardens, greenhouse and allotment of dying plants, old vegetables, leaves and the grass from the last lawn cut of the year, you can make look at making your own compost. You will need a good mixture of green and brown waste so use cardboard to break up the mixture of green waste you are adding after clearing your garden.
Dahlia care
Gardens and allotments up and down the UK love a beautiful dahlia to bring some sunshine to their gardening spaces that can flower all the way into November. There are lots of ways to look after your dahlias, but you want to wait until the first frost has arrived. To look after your Dahlia tubers, you can either mulch the dahlia tubers in the soil or you can lift and store them. To mulch them firstly cut back the dead foliage and add it to you compost heap. You want to add a good thick layer of mulch around 2-3 inches of compost to the dahlia bed, and this will keep it nice and warm throughout the winter. You will then see the dahlias start to grow back again in springtime. If you decide that you want to lift your dahlias, this can be for many reasons such as wanting to divide the tubers, worrying about the cold or wanting to move them to a new location. You want to again start by cutting back the foliage and carefully lifting the dahlias out of the soil without damaging the tuber. To make sure you do this successfully please make sure you dig around the tuber plant leaving enough room that you don’t pierce it with the fork. When lifted you want to remove as much of the soil as possible and leave them in a shed or greenhouse to dry out. When dry you can store the tubers in a cool, dry, dark place and store them in boxes/trays wrapped in newspaper, just leave some room between tubers to allow air flow.
Bird feeders
A lot of us keen gardeners and allotment lovers tend to encourage the birds and wildlife into our gardens. Its important over the winter that we keep bird feeders full and water stations filled with fresh water every day. It also important for us to make sure that we clean our bird feeder regularly to keep them free of bacteria and fungal spores, that can spread infections among birds. It may be a good idea to give these a good clean and fille dup before those frosts arrive.
Seed sowing and planning
There are still some seeds you can sow now if you have somewhere to keep them over the winter, like a greenhouse or polytunnel. You can sow broad beans, sweet peas, cornflowers and calendula seeds. Garlic cloves and onion/shallot sets can be directly planted outside or into pots if you prefer. If you like to wait until spring to get started, then you can now look at planning your gardens and allotment plots putting pen to paper to draw out the gardening spaces and planning what you would like to grow. If you have hay seeds or plants, you really want now is a great time to get them on your Christmas wish lists to Santa. Planning your garden space now can help the spring rush feel less hectic, using a plan as a guide is a really good way to get started, but as you start to add plants and crops to the soil you may find your creativeness finds better ways to utilise the space.
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