Jobs to do in the garden this week.

  • Raspberries: Remove older canes that carried fruit last year but keep one year old canes that will carry this year's crop.
  • Switch outside water taps off at the mains and leave the outside tap open, draining any water, so the pipes don't freeze.
  • Try not to be too tidy in the garden. Leaving seed heads and long ornamental grasses provide food for birds and insects. They can also add height and interest over the winter.
  • If your pond has frozen over, melt a small area of ice with hot water to release any build-up of gases that could harm your fish. Don't be tempted to break the ice, the shockwave created can kill pond life.
  • If you have had a fall of snow, gently shake shrub branches, a build up of snow and ice can cause branches to snap.
  • Prune gooseberries and cover with netting to prevent birds from eating the buds.
  • Plant summer fruiting raspberry canes.
  • Apply fertilizer containing nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus around trees, fruit bushes and shrubs.
  • Plant or move roses. They like plenty of sun and a clay soil. Leave 60cm (24in) between plants to allow air circulation, which will reduce the chance of infection.
  • Clear away old crops from the greenhouse, including grow bags, they can harbour hibernating insects and their eggs. Spread the grow bag compost on the soil as a soil conditioner.
  • Check produce and plants that are in storage for damage or drying out (dahlias, chrysanths etc.).
  • If you are ordering seeds or plugs from mail order companies, you'll need to get your order in soon.
  • Start off seed potatoes, standing them in seed trays with eyes uppermost.
  • For an early crop of strawberries bring the pots into the greenhouse now.
  • Pot up any cuttings that have rooted.
  • Plant apple and pear trees. Check and adjust any stakes on young trees and remove stakes on any trees that have been planted more than 3 years.
  • Hard prune dogwood/cornus stems every other year. This will ensure straight, upright, brightly coloured stems. Use the prunings as hardwood cuttings. Cut into 8inch lengths, trim the bottom at a 45 degree angle and the top straight across, so you know which way up it should be planted. Push the stems into an empty space in the border. My dogwood cutting YouTube video here.
  • On a dry still day rake up fallen leaves, don't put them on the compost heap, as leaves break down in a cold process, whereas a traditional compost heap breaks organic matter down in a warm/hot process. Put them into a leaf composter, or make leaf mould. How to make leaf mould.
  • Put out feeders for birds. Nuts, seeds, suet balls and mealworms are available in most supermarkets now, but birds also love chopped bacon rind, apple and pear cores, dried fruit and pieces of crumbled hard cheese. Don't forget to put out fresh water, floating a tennis ball in the water should prevent the water from freezing over. Encouraging birds into the garden will help reduce the number of insects and slugs.
  • Prune summer-flowering clematis before they start producing new growth.
  • Wash any used pots and seed trays, ready to be used for seed sowing.
  • Plant summer and or autumn fruiting raspberry canes.
  • Empty any decorative and non-frostproof pots and store them undercover, in a shed, greenhouse or garage. If they are kept empty and dry over winter they are less likely to be damaged by frost. Frostproof terracotta pots planted with a winter display should be lifted onto clay pot feet, to allow any excess water to drain out and reduce slug and snails climbing the side of the pot to eat your plants.
  • During autumn and winter, indoor plants will require less feeding and watering. However as the temperature drops outside, the central heating goes on and the temperature in the house tends to go up, so whilst it's a good idea to keep your pot plants on the dry side and not water them too often, you should check a couple of times a week to ensure they haven't totally dried out. Oh and if you have a water spray bottle, hold the plant over the sink or bath and give the foliage a quick little squirt (don't do this to hairy leaved plants like African violets).
  • Don't go and buy an indoor (small) watering can, I find that the kettle does just as good a job, but obviously not after it has just boiled!! (the water should be room temperature or cooler).
  • Early November is usually the time to prune roses, but the weather is still mild and I still have flowers and buds on some of mine, so I'll wait until they have finished flowering when they can then be pruned, cutting them back to half their height.
  • Now's a good time to service your lawn mower. If you've got an electric mower it's just a matter of checking the blades aren't too badly damaged (if they are the plastic type, they are easily replaced) and that the underside of the deck is clear of debris. For petrol mowers it's a bit more complex. Remove the air filter cover and give the filter a good vacuum. Lift the mower onto a bench and examine the underside of the mower deck and the state of the blade (note that most manufacturers suggest not tipping the mower unless it has been drained of oil as well as any petrol), remove the spark plug and check that the spark gap is bright, if not give it a clean with some fine emery paper and reset the spark gap. Old petrol from last year will be 'stale', making it difficult to start your mower. Mix it with some new petrol in your fuel can. For the first start of the mower I find a short spray from a can of Easy Start into the intake will get the mower going pretty quickly.
  • After a frost try to stay off the grass. Treading on the lawn in frosty conditions can damage the grass.
  • Order bare root roses. Bare root roses are cheaper to buy and have posted than container-grown roses. There is also a much broader range of roses available by mail-order than can be purchased in most garden centres.
     
    Ordering early and planting within the first few weeks of October will allow them to start to get established before the hard winter frosts, but planted later in the winter/new year (up until the end of April), they'll still settle in quickly, begin to sprout and flower in the summer. When planting a bare root rose in winter you'll initially need to water it in well, but unless we have a particularly dry spell it shouldn't need additional watering, if planting in early spring, you'll need to keep an eye on the weather and water regularly to stop the roots from drying out.
  • Put holly branches on the ground to stop mice and squirrels digging up newly planted peas, broad beans and bulbs.
  • Plant lily and gladioli bulbs in 4in (10cm) deep holes. Cover with soil or compost and gently firm down the soil to ensure that there are no air pockets as this may cause the bulbs to rot.
  • When you see the new shoots forming on sedum, cut down the old, dead flower heads.
  • Refirm the roots of any shrubs that may have been lifted by frost.
  • Keep an eye on the weather forecast. Cover shrubs that are likely to be damaged by frost with garden fleece, sacking or an old light blanket.
  • Remove algae and moss from patios and paths with a pressure washer or proprietary patio and path cleaner (traditionally a tar oil winter wash could have been used, but these are no longer available, particualrly to the amateur gardener, as they were found to be carcinogenic).
  • As it's starting to warm up, it's a good time to lay a new lawn, although the best time is in Autumn or late winter, as it's damper and cooler, allowing the turf to bed in without you having to worry too much about regular watering. See here: laying a new lawn for further information.
  • To reduce the chance of introducing infection when pruning or deadheading, wipe the blades of secateurs, loppers and snips with a rag soaked with a garden disinfectant, such as Jeyes fluid, which can also be used to wipe down garden tables and chairs.
Protected by Copyscape