Gardening jobs this September
So September is here already, I can hardly believe it! It seems only the other day that it was September 2010 and we were getting ready with our apple recipes and sloe gin recipes. My how time fly’s when you are having fun.... anyway with September so far, we have already experienced a fair bit of gustyness, although the weather has stayed fairly mild. Here is a bit of a run through of some general gardening jobs to get busy with this September when you get the chance.
1. Harvesting: as you have probably already noticed, I haven’t stopped banging on about Damsons recently, this is probably because we have two damson trees in our garden and I can’t help but notice them everyday. However it’s not all about damsons, a lot of apple varieties will be nearly ready (some ready right now) within the next couple of weeks and will need picking. You may also have some autumn raspberries that could do with harvesting around this time.
2. Foraging: with all the hedgerows hopefully stuffed (I know a couple near us are) with fruits it’s a must to get out there and get some lovely free produce. Keep an eye out for blackthorn trees and their delicious fruits if you fancy making your own sloe gin. Blackberries are also out and about at the moment, and these are just perfect with your own apples to make a heart-warming English classic; apple and blackberry crumble – mmm delicious with cream or custard. Just a quick note if you plan to do some foraging, make sure you know what berries are the right ones and you have permission to pick if it is on private property.
3. Protect the young trees: With all this gusty weather that we are having, it would be a smart move to tie back any small or not very well established trees in your garden. In really extreme conditions the young branches could get damaged for next year.
4. Tidying: When the leaves are shed from trees try and not leave it too long before you collect them up, because sometimes rotten leaves can be the source of disease in the garden.
5. Roses: Dead head roses that have finished for the year and side shoots can be cut back on climbing roses ready for next year. I know this is a bit of a boring job, but all the better for next year.
If you have any of your own September gardening tips, or recipes to share, we would love to hear from you. Tell us what you think about your fruit crops this year, has it been a good year for Damsons, or a bad year for apples in your experience?
