Jobs to do in the garden this November

Jobs to do in the garden this November

Not sure what to do in the garden this November? Check out the November gardening reminders put together by our chairman and horticulturalist John Richardson.

1) Finish picking the last of the late apples, Store in well-ventilated crates or freeze them.

2) Collect all the canes and stakes no longer in use and stand the bottoms in preservative for a day.

3) Service the mower or have it done professionally, clean and store garden furniture.

4) Check alpines in case they are covered in leaves.

5) Clear fallen leaves from lawns, ponds, gutters and natural free drainage routes.

6) Cut back tall rose bushes and shrubs such as Buddleia to prevent winter wind-rock and damage.

7) Check that ceramic or terracotta pots are raised on ‘feet’ off the ground to help avoid frost damage.

8) Cover alpines with sheets of glass or cloches to reduce the effect of excessive winter rain.

9) Take root cuttings from oriental poppies, sea hollies and verbascums. Cutting should be 8cm long, of average thickness, with a straight top cut and sloping bottom cut. Place vertically in pots of cutting compost with top level with the compost. Keep outside in a sheltered place over winter.

10) Try to complete laying turf this month. If delayed, wait for a day when conditions are dry underfoot.

11) If newly ordered plants have arrived but soil conditions are poor, take them out of the packaging, splay open the roots and lay them in a 15” deep trench at 45⁰, to the side of the trench, to reduce wind disturbance. Firm soil back over the roots. Plants are ok like this until growth commences.

12) When planting roses into an existing rose bed, remove the soil from each planting hole and replace with soil from another part of the garden which has not previously grown roses.

13) Clean the corms of gladiolus lifted last month which are now dry. Remove the old corm from the base of the new corm. Destroy any showing signs of disease. If you have saved the small cormlets attached to the base of the new corm, keep until March and plant 2” deep in a layer of sand.

14) If conditions are not too wet, now is a good time to establish or develop the rock garden. OK to plant at this time of year but protect young alpines from excessive rain.

15) Now is a good time to develop a new vegetable plot. Deep dig the plot and add well-rotted compost or manure. Grass can be dug in but turn it upside-down in the base of the trench and cover with soil to prevent re-growth. Leave soil surface rough to benefit from winter frosts.

16) Wash out water butts to remove debris. Purchase additional water butts for other downpipes.

17) On cold November nights, sit over the fire and go through next years seed and bulb catalogues and read those magazine articles which you had no time for in the summer.

Posted 4th Nov 4:17pm