I am a gardener. Four chores you need to do in October to have a record harvest in the spring
AUTUMN has arrived, but although it has become cold and gray outside, there are still plenty of jobs to do in the garden.
From sowing hardy seeds for a winter harvest to preparing your garden for a bumper harvest in spring, gardening expert Benedict Vanheems has revealed the essential chores to cross off your list this October.
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Spring onions
Benedict revealed there’s still time to reap a winter crop of scallions, if you plant them “pronto.”
“It’s important to use a really hardy variety this late in the season,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel. @GrowVeg.
To protect the onions from the cold, you can set up a ‘cold frame’ using an old window frame and some planks.
Stick the planks lengthwise around the onion plants and then stick the diamond on top so they stay warm.
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“When it gets cold, this really helps protect the old onions,” he says.
Winter lettuce
Winter lettuce is a winter-hardy lettuce variety that is suitable for sowing throughout the winter.
Start by planting them in small pots and then move them outside once they start growing.
To keep them warm, you can place a plastic sheet over them, held up by plastic pipes.
“These guys will be ready to pick and enjoy in early spring,” Benedict said.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is another vegetable that can be grown all winter and harvested in the spring.
Sow them in pots and store them in the greenhouse before planting them outside in the garden in the spring.
Cover crop
Benedict revealed that this is the perfect time to sow cover crops, which are plants that give back to the soil, by improving their structure, their fertility or both.
Some examples of cover crops are winter tears, which fix nitrogen to the roots for a period of time future crop and rye grass, which helps break down the soil and improve its structure.
Expert garden advice
“What I love about this is that it creates beautiful biomass to enrich the soil, literally from nothing,” he said.
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