“Always count the sunny hours. Let others count the storms and showers”
It has been suggested that a monthly garden offering might catch the eye of you gentle readers.
It is proposed that a subtle departure from the daily ‘decline and fall’ political round (through getting our hands dirty in the honest soil and toil of our backyard plots) could provide some slight relief. Naturally the picture shown above is not an October one. But I wanted to begin with ‘encouragement’ from a previous season! (Though the shed repainting would have been done sometime from October onwards.)
This is not setting out to become a ‘learned treatise’ on gardening perfection. Rather, I hope it will be a humorous approach to getting the most out of whatever garden plot happens to be yours.
A garden is for pleasure. A garden which requires constant back-breaking toil is the equivalent of ‘indentured servitude’!
Not knowing your individual predilections for ‘gardening’, nor knowing how knowledgeable (or not as the case may be) you might be; I would prefer to keep it as a general monthly suggestion guide. However, I do hope that it could much more profitably morph into a more ‘forum-like’ arena with a lively and hopefully funny exchange of experiences, ideas, and solutions provided mostly by you dear readers! Questions will always be addressed…..somehow!
My own first foray into gardening was a tiny plot of soil at the back of the minuscule garden of the first house I occupied after leaving my flat dwelling years behind me.
I remembered the seemingly endless ‘repetitive slog’ that represented the garden of my parents’ garden in my childhood - where a 15ft square area was all we children were allowed to play in with a swing erected. The remaining 90ft was mostly cultivated with fruit and vegetables. The yearly trial of digging, planting, weeding and general tending (whilst very productive) was not such as to entice a child to participate! Of course, being ‘post-war’ the ‘dig for victory’ habit, coupled with the still-in-place rationing made it a necessary part of the food production and survival process.
However, the garden I acquired with my own house was much less intimidating. Half was already laid to lawn; a shed was placed in the middle of the other half with a small, raised flower plot near the house and a tiny plot of soil beyond the shed. I thought I would try my luck. I grew runner beans up strings nailed to the wall of the shed and a few radishes (the easiest of all to grow). The lettuces were rapidly consumed by slugs and snails! Which, in my ignorance, I had taken no precautions against.
But it could be said that I ‘grew into it! As the years progressed and my garden plots increased with each house move. I was hooked. We even joined the RHS. We went to a Roy Strong lecture at RHS Wisley on ‘Small Gardens’. Apart from being entertained by his anecdotes and buying his signed book (as you do) on the way out, the piece of advice I always remember is “If a plant no longer pleases you, do not hesitate. Be ruthless. Take it out and try something else!
I built a patio of crazy paving in one of my later and larger gardens. I excavated the plot and collected every small stone I overturned on the way. I encouraged the neighbours to bring me their small stones too and soon I had a good bed of hardcore. The excavated soil I wheelbarrowed round to the local playground where the children had scoured out the ground beneath the round climbing frame (so that if it rained it was full of water). My excavations soon filled up that hole and the children jumped all over it and tamped it down.
I ordered some crazy paving and sand from a salvage merchant and set about the final part of the process. It was akin to doing a very large jigsaw puzzle. But my preparation work must have been good enough because it never sank or moved afterwards. Then began my ‘pot gardening’, with annuals and bulbs to decorate my work.
October is an odd month to be beginning a series on gardening, as it really hails the end of the summer growing season. But as one season ends another begins. So here goes…
October is essentially a clearing up and tidying month. If you don’t have a compost heap or bin and you have space do consider starting one. The results will be fed back into your garden and your plants will flourish. Kitchen waste such as potato peelings etc can be composted. But nothing that has been cooked should be added. Put some wire mesh at the bottom to discourage rodents from making a nest (and eating your ingredients). Turn the compost regularly to encourage the process.
If you already compost and have a heap ready or nearly ready, feed your soil life by adding an inch or so of compost onto beds as they become available and cleared of weeds. You can spread the compost under tall plants like sprouts and broccoli. Though it should be noted that some gardeners suggest waiting till the spring to do this to avoid the nutrients in the compost being washed away.
If you have no compost to hand, consider sowing white mustard (synapis alba) by the second week in October as a cover crop. It grows very fast and converts Autumn sunshine into organic matter that increases the carbon content of the soil. The mustard will be killed by winter frosts and just left to rot on the soil, or worked into to the top inch or so.
Cut back any perennial plants that have finished flowering along with any summer annuals that have served their turn. Most of the cuttings may be composted so long as it is soft growth. Don’t put seed heads in because they will probably grow next year where you don't want them!
If you have space for a vegetable bed you may probably have grown summer veg. Anything left over can be cut up and put in the compost bin. Think of those hungry plants that you will grow next year waiting to use up all that lovely ‘bulky organic matter’ to give you a display of glorious colour!
Now you may plant out spring cabbage seedlings and press them in firmly to ensure they won’t be rocked about in the winter wind. If you have a pigeon population I suggest netting cover. Pigeons love cabbage too!
If you have dahlias or begonias they will soon be finishing their season. The tubers may be dried and then stored carefully in a dry frost free place in shavings, shredded paper, or dry compost. Then they will be ready to grow again next year for another show.
Rake and aerate the lawn (if you have one) to help prevent moss build up over a wet soggy winter. Scarifying and seeding should be finished for those in Scotland, Northern Ireland and perhaps Ireland, and near completion for those north of Birmingham with a few more good weeks left for those in the south.
Though mowing will be less frequent everywhere, fertilisation remain on the schedule with moss treatments now being high on the agenda. A spraying of very cheap iron sulphate is worth considering.
Plant spring bulbs now for a joyful show in early spring when you are just beginning to think winter will never end! Order a seed catalogue if you plan to ‘grow your own’ from scratch. It will comfort you when its blowing a gale, or raining to imagine next year’s display! You might even grow your own pumpkin to be ready in time for next October’s Halloween.
Happy October! Please let us know whether this is something you would like to continue. Send your own tips and tricks to pass on to others and questions if you have any.