It doesn’t feel like too long ago we were sowing our first seeds of 2022 and now we are swiftly moving through the months, through the drought, out of the hot sunshine and into the next part of the gardening journey, Autumn. I think we can safely say after a very hot and dry summer our gardens and allotment plots need some TLC! Summer in the garden has that relentless feeling of constant watering, harvesting, pruning, feeding and maintenance we are all in need of that slowing down of gardening pace as autumn approaches.
As your garden and allotment plots slow in pace there are still a mountain of tasks to keep anyone busy throughout the autumn and winter months. Now is a great time to start thinking about crops you may like to grow and harvest over the colder months. We can look and plan what spring bulbs we need to get in the ground during the autumn, including any garlic cloves and onion bulbs. You may want to think about crop rotation, plan out your gardening spaces so that in October you can sow seeds and plant bulbs exactly where you want them to grow.
Before the weather turns and we get the first frost appear we can look at what we can grow over the winter, there are still many crops you can grow from seeds over the winter to harvest and seedlings to grow throughout the winter to be ready for planting in the spring. If you have an allotment of a vegetable garden or patch these are the perfect crops for you to sow heading into September and October.
A few ideas of seeds to sow and harvest during the Autumn/winter season
- Swiss chard
- Mizuna
- Lettuce marvel
- Carrot Chantenay
- Rocket wild
- Perpetual Spinach
- Salad onion
Seeds to sow and grow on ready for planting in spring 2023
- Broad beans
- Peas
- Sweet peas
- Cornflowers
- Calendula
Bulbs to plant during autumn ready to harvest in summer 2023
- Garlic
- Onions
- Shallots
Bulbs to plant in autumn to create fantastic spring flowering displays.
- Daffodils
- Crocus
- Tulips
- Alliums
It’s an exciting time to start planning your gardening spaces, you can look back over the summer to see what has worked and what may need to be changed. If you are just starting an allotment or gardening space, it’s a great time to look at what you would like to do with the space and getting to work on the ground. Ground Prep over the colder months is key to a successful year so you want to start clearing beds and borders of old plants, making new spaces, mulching the soil and improving your soil structure.
Mulching is a fantastic way to rejuvenate the life of the soil, it helps retain moisture in the soil throughout the summer and helps feed the soil with essential nutrients for plant health whilst helping slow the growth of weeds. You can cover borders, beds, allotment plots, raised beds and containers/pots with a nice thick layer of mulch to help prepare for the next growing season.
Here at Rocket Gro, we have our own Magic mulch perfect for gardeners looking to supercharge the health of their gardens. Magic Mulch is a soil conditioner, weed suppressant, slug repellent, mulch, and natural fertiliser, rich in N:P:K (4.4-2.3-5.6) bio-available micro-nutrients for superior yield and growth. No Dig & spread it over your beds & borders and let the organic goodness slowly feed your soil for 3 months. Your beds will look great, and the Mulch will protect and nourish your plants.
If you have any areas in your gardens that may have poor soil conditions, we also have a product called Soil improver which is great for changing the TEXTURE of the soil. If your soil is hard, full clay, loamy or sandy you can use our Soil improver to create the perfect growing conditions. To do this you can choose one of two options either by gently digging or forking the compost into the soil, or by creating a No Dig bed and adding a layer of cardboard followed by a thick layer of compost on top.
We definitely think that improving your soil in the autumn and preparing your gardening areas fully is key to having a successful and productive garden for next season.
There are lots of jobs to keep gardeners busy going into these colder months, the next blogs in October, November and December will be focussing on jobs to do, top tips, planning, our favourite crops to grow and of course our new products and plans for 2023.
