Gardener reveals jobs you should give up if you don’t want plant pots to burst in frost

Green-fingered homeowners have been warned to prepare their gardens for this season’s cold and icy weather.

Emma O’Neill said plant pots will burst if two garden jobs are not completed on time.

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O’Neill is head gardener at horticultural organization Garden Organic in Warwickshire.

She said now is the time to protect plants, crops and soil from harsh winter weather.

One of her tasks is to ensure that decorative plant pots survive so that they can be filled with striking flowers next summer.

This can be done simply by moving the pots off the patio and stopping all watering.

“For container plants, make sure you have the pot feet underneath as even terracotta pots will crack in frost if they don’t come off the ground,” she said. The independent.

“Stop feeding potted plants, as any delicate new growth they develop will be lost to frost, and stop watering.”

A garage or shed can be the ideal frost-free place to keep vulnerable plants in pots.

Alternatively, she suggests wrapping the plant and pot in horticultural fleece to prevent the compost from freezing.

O’Neill recommends protecting plant roots from frost by mulching with homemade compost.

The green waste that can be collected from municipalities also provides the soil structure.

She said winter salads should be covered with cloches unless grown undercover.

Potted pelargoniums are best moved to a greenhouse or conservatory as they are cared for in the same way as bedding plants.

It is important to consider the temperature in greenhouses and polytunnels as temperatures underground can drop to minus five degrees Celsius.

Garden work in October

Veronica Lorraine, garden editor for The Sun, has shared the jobs you need to tackle this October.

“It’s a good time to prune deciduous hedges – such as boxwood, yew, hawthorn, hornbeam and beech – and hedge trimmers are a great upper body workout!

Make leaf mold – collect all fallen leaves and fill garbage bags or plastic carrier bags. Seal the top, poke a few small holes in the bag and store for a year or more. Free compost!

You’re unlikely to get any more red tomatoes, so harvest one more time and throw the plants into the compost. See if you can ripen the green ones by putting a drawer in them (some say with a banana). Save the seeds from a few too – and plant them again next year if they have gone well.

Finish bringing in your spring bulbs. Ideally you would have planted daffodils and alliums, but tulips are better in the open ground when the soil temperature becomes a bit colder.

It is good to leave some plant waste in the ground; this adds nutrients as it rots, providing shelter and food for insects. But remove the dingy brown bits that are collapsing all over the lawn/winter structure.

Mulch – it not only suppresses weeds, but also keeps the soil warm, improves water retention and adds a little winter comfort to your outdoor space.

October is a good month for carrots, peas, asparagus, broad beans and rhubarb.”

The advice comes after gardening expert Timothy Green shared a lawn job that needs to be done now for a lush lawn come spring.

He said once the weather has been consistently above 10 degrees for two weeks, it’s time to overseed.

Remove any moss, dead grass or weeds before using the seeds to address any ‘worn areas’.

He advised aiming for a quantity of 35 grams of seeds per square meter.

“Stacked three-pound coins are the right depth for your seeds to access water, warmth and sunlight,” he said.

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