October Gardening
Hi ,
Autumn has well and truly commenced in the UK, with the warming shades of the changing leaves adding some brightness to the shortening days.
October is the start of hardwood cuttings season, perfect for creating new plants from some of your favourite established ones. From mid-October, plants like Forsythia, Viburnum, fruit bushes and Willow are perfect examples for taking hardwood cuttings.
Using a pair of sharp anvil secateurs, select a healthy shoot of this year’s growth, and cut 15-30 cm sections above a bud, using a sloping cut. Dip the lower end in rooting hormone, plant two-thirds of the cutting into a pot of compost, and take care of it until it’s ready to plant out next year. Find out more about taking cuttings on my blog.
I’ve been heading around the country this year with ITV’s This Morning, making over front gardens for deserving This Morning viewers. Catch up with the latest Front Garden Facelift on their YouTube channel by following this link.
Find out about my seasonal gardening advice on my website and YouTube channel. And make sure you like, subscribe, and switch on notifications so you stay updated with all my new videos.
Happy gardening!
David
Gardening tip of the month
Harvest and store pumpkins and squashes
With Halloween mere weeks away, harvest your pumpkins and squashes ready for some creative carving.
Lift onto bricks
If your pumpkin and squash fruit are just starting to swell, lift them onto bricks, wooden board, or anything else to hand.
This protects the fruit from rotting when being pressed into the damp soil thanks to the wetter autumn conditions.
Harvesting pumpkins and squashes
Try to leave them on the stems for as long as possible to grow and develop colour, but don’t wait until frosts start kicking in.
Once the stems on your pumpkins and squash start to crack, and they sound hollow when tapped, they should be ready to harvest.
Storing pumpkins and squashes
Cut the stalks with sharp secateurs, and leave the fruit outside in the sun for up to ten days to ‘cure’.
Then store indoors at a consistent 15 degrees Celsius. and remove any rotted plants. They can keep like this for up to six months.
Carve or cook
Pumpkins and squashes are delicious and nutritious in soups, pies, baked goods, and many more. you can also dry the seeds for nutritious snacks.
Of course, carving is a popular October pastime for children and adults alike. Look for templates and ideas online for inspiration.
Watch this video from David
Find out what the best alternatives to Box Hedge (Buxus sempervirens) are to avoid common problems like Box Moth Caterpillar and Box Blight.
Watch this video
Find out how you can help out wild hedgehogs visiting your garden in autumn and winter.
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