Gardening: Early autumn means prep starts now

In the Garden 

Autumn has come relatively early thanks to the Mediterranean conditions we’ve been managing over the last six months. Usually we are allowed September to incrementally adjust to the change in conditions, but not this year. 

Foliage has died down in the beds and late flowering perennials without water look limp and not their usual selves at all. 

It’s time to cut your losses and prepare for next year by removing anything dead in order to prevent disease. Some perennials you can cut back now and others you’ll need to wait until the firsts few frosts have passed. Cutting too early can render new growth to be vulnerable to colder temperatures whereas if you wait new growth will only appear once it’s warm enough. Plants are intelligent like that and we can work together with them. 

Things like bee balm, catmint and phlox can all be susceptible to powdery mildew which loves hanging around in decaying leaves where moisture is high and air flow is low. You might find they just don’t return next year and this will be why. 

Geraniums, hellebores and huecheras can wait until the new year to tidy up as they are pretty bombproof as far as cold and disease goes. 

Some perennials however grow basal leaves later on in the season if left alone. Yarrows, which include all achilleas are a great example of this so should nt be cut back too close to the crown for this reason. Leaving a few inches of last years stem will also give you a clue as to where they ate when it comes to mulching and separating over winter. 

The trees and shrubs have begun to drop their leaves now so its a case of raking them up and, depending on the size of your garden, using a dumpy bag or large trug to collect them and put them to good use by making leaf mould. Smaller gardens will just need a few perforated bin bags full and add water before closing and leaving for a year somewhere out of sight. Next time you open them there will be dark chocolate chips to add to compost to enrich it. Keep the cycle going every year. 

On the Plot 

Winter onions can go in now the ground is starting to soften up. In order to thwart the determined efforts of hungry blackbirds and pigeons, dig a long trench about 4-6 inches deep and plant them in there. That way the birds can’t reach them to pull on until the roots have established and then it’s impossible. 

‘Electric’,‘Red Baron’,‘Senshyu’ and ‘Red Winter’ are all robust varieties that will produce fat round onions in mid summer next year around June and July. Just push the sets into the ground pointy end up and make sure they don’t dry out, which should nt be too hard ! This is a great example of working with nature and planting the right plant and allowing nature to do the work. When Christmas arrives, they ll be established and all you ll need to do is keep them weed free. This can be the tricky part as onion roots are close to the surface so don’t do what I did and roughly hoe in between and wonder why they’ve died off. Gently remove emerging weeds by hand. Just tickle the soil in the direction away from the stems and draw the weeds out. Larger weeds can be pulled out by hand to take their roots with them. 

Onions are the backbone of most dishes across the globe as well as the allotment so for that reason no veg garden is without them. Many gardeners grow several varieties all year round and some in the flower beds too. Its worth acquainting yourself with the knowledge and skills needed to grow alliums given their medicinal   qualities to other plants and general star quality.