Sowing in September – As the ground cools there are fewer options with regards to planting. However, you can still plant winter cabbages, spring cabbages, winter spinach, spring cabbage and White Lisbon spring onions to be picked in spring.
Harvesting the last of your summer fruiting veg – Such as broad beans and peas and you should still be pulling tomatoes, chillies and peppers off their vines for a couple of weeks yet.
Lots to harvest – You should now be reaping the rewards of your hard work over the summer growing season and harvesting lots of vegetables such as carrots, beetroot, broccoli, brussels sprouts (later in September) and much more.
Plant some green manure – If you have finished with growing vegetables for this year, you could think about planting some comfey or other green manure once you have cleared the beds of debris.
Cure off your squashes – Don’t allow squashes to ripen on the ground, lay them on cardboard or straw to prevent them touching the wet soil. If they come into contact with it, they are likely to end up rotting and you will lift them up to find a slimy mess on the underside. Once ripened, remove them from the plant and cure them in the sunshine to harden off their skins. Once hardened off, store them in a cool, dark, aired space for a couple of weeks before transferring them to a cool place to store until needed.
The last of your maincrop onions should be ready now – Once their leaves start to die off, remove them from the soil and dry them off, either in the sun or in seed trays in the greenhouse if the weather is wet. They require air to move around them to dry off and prevent them rotting. If it is still sunny and warm, putting them in the green house could partially cook them, resulting in a rotting mess. You can dry them off in nets or string them together and hang them for a few days.
Apples and pears will be ripening now – They can be harvested this month. If you find you have an abundance and want to store them, pears will keep in the fridge for up to a week and apples will last a couple of months if stored in a cool, dark, frost free place such as the cellar or a shed.
Prune your berries – Most berry bushes will be slowing their yield of fruit at this time of year so it’s a good time to prepare them for next year by pruning the canes down to the soil and tying the newer growth that hasn’t bourn any fruit to a frame or fence, these will produce the fruit in the next season.
Harvest your maincrop potatoes – Check that they are a decent size by forking out a clump carefully, so as not to harm the tubers. If they are still on the small side, leave the other plants in the ground for couple more weeks. You can leave potatoes in the ground until October although bear in mind that the longer they are in, the more prone to disease and pests they are.
Keep tending to your tomatoes – Greenhouse plants can still produce fruit for a while yet if you look after them well. Keeping them ventilated and removing any discoloured leaves will help to keep them going for a couple more weeks yet. Remove the lower leaves from the plants to concentrate their energy on the business end, the trusses higher up.
Remove any shading from your greenhouse windows.
