September tips

New students arrive and our previous year students return and once again Campus will come alive with sound and colour.

Touches of gold start to appear this month as Autumn creeps in, and as always there are tasks to be getting on with..

Before the ground gets cold consider planting bulbs ready for the Spring. There are so many to choose from now alongside traditional Crocus, Daffodils, Hyacinths and Bluebells. Spring flowering bulbs are an essential part of creating a healthy ecosystem, so the longer the flowering period the better.

Divide your favourite herbaceous perennials as the weather cools. If you get the chance to take some photographs this will help you with other planting once the plants have died down and are dormant. Some of the plants will now be at there best, Dahlia and Crocosmia among others. But seasonal plants including summer bedding plants will be finishing and past their best. September is the ideal time to clear out the bedding from the planters and pots and replace them with winter bedding plants. 

There are a wide variety of plants to choose from including the more traditional such as Primrose or pansies but if you are fancying something a bit different why not try some ornamental cabbage as feature plants that turn pink in the colder months.

Fruit and Veg 

The apples and pears should be ripening and ready for you to pick, tidy up fallen apples to prevent them attracting wasps.

If there are too many apples for you to use, store them in a cool dark place.

Pick any remaining Raspberries and Blackberries. If you have too many to use up you can freeze them to use at a later date or maybe take a few out at a time through winter and leave them in the garden for wildlife along with an apple or too. 

If you still have tomato's on the plants that are green, pick them and take them indoors to ripen. If you put the tomato's in a draw next to a ripe banana the chemicals from the banana will encourage the fruit to ripen or you could use them to make a green chutney. 

September is the ideal time to plant the hardy varieties of broad beans and peas but be sure to protect them from mice with a fine grade chicken wire. You can also sow some spring cabbage, spinach, onions and garlic for early harvest in the spring.