Jobs for November

Greenhouse jobs

• In the greenhouse: if you haven’t done it already, on a dry day, thoroughly clean the greenhouse inside and wipe off any shading on the outside glass. Then use a pesticide candle to kill any residual pests. As the weather starts to get very cold, put up insulation on the inside of the greenhouse.

• Lift vulnerable plants – e.g. Geraniums, Fuchsias, Osteospermums – and pot up in multi-purpose compost and put in the greenhouse over winter.

General Gardening

• Remove any annual summer bedding from borders, pots and baskets.

• Compost from pots can be put on the garden and the foliage in the compost bin.

• Buy suitable winter bedding – Winter Pansies/ Violas - and bulbs for pots. Use multi-purpose and John Innes (2 to 1 ratio) mixed with slow release fertiliser when potting them up.

• Cut Budleja and Hybrid & Floribunda Rose stems to half their height to prevent the wind from rocking them in the ground and allowing frost to get into the roots later.

• If it’s not too wet rake off leaves from the lawn .. otherwise leave the lawn alone – cutting it when it’s wet will do more harm than good.

• Try and use the many leaves now falling in your garden to make leaf mould

• Try and use the many leaves now falling in your garden to make leaf mould (see the October Newsletter)!

• If you haven’t already, take photographs of your borders to see what’s in flower and for a chance to look at what grew well and how to improve it next year.

• Check the local weather forecasts daily and keep some fleece handy to place over more tender perennials (e.g. Fuchsia) when frost is forecast. You should be able to keep them flowering for a few more weeks!

• After their foliage has been blackened by frost, carefully dig out any Dahlias you have. Cut the stems off – the foliage can go in the compost bin/ heaps – leaving 6 inches (15cm) of stem at the bottom above the tubers. Place the tuber upside down somewhere frost-free so any water in the stems can drain out. After a few weeks then they can be the put upright in a tray/ shallow box covered by multi-purpose compost to prevent the tubers from drying out.

Vegetable / Fruit growing

• Dig up spent crops and add to the compost heap. Disposing of any that are diseased by burning or putting in the bin.

• If you haven’t sown green manures, fork over and then mulch your veg patch with well-rotted manure or garden compost. Cover with thick black plastic / landscape fabric and let the worms do the work.

• The black plastic/ landscape fabric will also warm the ground underneath and allow you to make an early sowing of seeds next year!