Gardening Jobs To Do In September

September marks the turning of Summer into Autumn. It’s the time of the year when there is still plenty to harvest or enjoy in the garden.

Colors change from green to gold and red and it sets the scene ready for winter. Like the garden, we too need to prepare for the inevitable but for just a short while we can sit back and bask in the late autumn sunshine and enjoy the harvests and beauty of the garden at this time of year.  

September is also the time of the year that gardeners get busy sowing for winter crops or tucking tender plants away in greenhouses and conservatories all over the world. The list below is just some of the vegetables you can sow NOW!

18 Jobs you can do this month

• Divide herbaceous perennials
• Pick Autumn Raspberries
• Collect and sow seed from perennials and hardy annuals
• Dig up remaining potatoes before slug damage spoils them
• Net ponds before leaf fall get underway
• Clean out cold frames and greenhouses so that they are ready for use in the autumn
• Cover leafy vegetable crops with bird-proof netting
• Plant spring-flowering bulbs
• Deadhead Dahlia And Roses
• Start The Autumn (Fall) cleanup
• Remove greenhouse shading
• Raise the post off the ground to allow to drain
• Plan next year’s garden
• Buy spring bulbs
• Rake thatch and moss out of your lawn
• Take Perennial cuttings
• Apply Mulch
• Sow Green Manure Cover Crop

Divide herbaceous perennials

Herbaceous perennials benefit from being divided at this time of the year. This not only increases your plant stocks and gives you backups. But It also reinvigorates the plant making them stronger, healthier specimens. They benefit from this division every two to three years. It is not a yearly task. There are many species that can be divided such as:

Pick Autumn Raspberries

It is easy to forget about soft fruit this time of year. But now is perfect for Autumn (Fall) raspberries. They are ripening daily and it is important to harvest these before the birds help themselves, or the weather destroys them.

Collect and sow seed from perennials and hardy annuals

Seed can be expensive to buy, and you don’t always get that many to the packet. But this month is perfect to collect and sow seed from your perennials and hardy annuals. The great thing is that you can just sow straight away without having to dry the seed or even wait to sow it.

Cover leafy vegetable crops with bird-proof netting

It’s getting colder, The leafy veg like kales and spring greens are putting on good size now. It is important to protect these from the birds. The pigeons will remove the tops within hours. Net these crops if possible, Temporary netting is fine to put the birds off long enough to allow the crop to harden up a little.

Plant spring-flowering bulbs

This month is perfect for getting more bulbs into the ground. You will see large bags of daffodils on sale in the big supermarkets or big box stores. with such a variety of spring bulbs available, there is no reason not to have color in the garden. These can be planted in the ground, or even into large terracotta containers such as in the video below.

Deadhead Dahlia And Roses

This month is a good time to deadhead these plants Unless you want rosehips of course. However, by removing the dead flowers you prolong the flowering process and will continue to have blooms right into next month providing frosts don’t hit.

Start The Autumn (Fall) cleanup

With so many crops being harvested or annual plants starting to die, large areas of the garden are becoming empty or barren. This is the perfect opportunity in which to start the Autumn cleanup. Just tidying the basics now will make life much easier later in winter.

Remove greenhouse shading

Light levels are dropping quickly as we head into Autumn (Fall) and there is no longer a need to shade the greenhouse any longer. Removing this shading will allow much-needed daylight into the greenhouse to increase the light levels.

Raise post off the ground to allow to drain

If you have large terracotta or decorative pots in your garden it is important to raise them off the ground. Use small bricks or pot feet to achieve this. It will allow the pots to drain properly through the winter and prevent the freeze and thaw cycle from destroying the pot.

Plan next years garden

With the weather getting worse and cold, now is a great time to plan next year’s garden. What you will grow and where it will go. Do you want to add a trellis, pergola, shed, or a new greenhouse? all these things can be planned now.

Buy spring bulbs

In order to be able to plant spring bulbs, you first have to buy them. With so many deals from mail order these days, this month would be a perfect time in which to get more bang for your buck.

Rake thatch and moss out of your lawn

If you want a beautiful lush green lawn next year, now is the right time to scarify your lawn. That simply means to rake out all the thatch and moss from the lawn. This will help it breathe, drain and allow the grass to knit together properly. It is also a great time to feed the lawn too while you are at it.

Take Perennial cuttings

Perennial cuttings are a great way to increase your stocks and fill in spaces in the garden for FREE. This month is a perfect time to do this task. The plants are already putting out little shoots, Simply remove these with a sharp cutting or hobby knife, dip into rooting hormone, and put into a well-draining soil or compost mix.

Apply Mulch

Mulching is still important at this time of year. Perennials really benefit from the protection over the winter months. Mulch rhubarb and other plants have a crown with a couple of inches to help protect them from the frost.

Sow Green Manure Cover Crop

With winter just around the corner. And the daytime temperatures are still relatively warm, any open ground should be sown with green manure. This is such a great thing to do for your soil fertility. Cover crops not only cover the ground protecting it from compaction from the rain, But It also stops erosion and even feeds the soil life over winter.

It can be used to add nitrogen to the soil, or even be used as a biofumigant. This one crop will change your whole world in your garden. If you would like an in-depth guide on cover crops you can read the blog here. Or even view the video below.

Not too late to sow

Take advantage of the drier days and dig and cover any unused beds, build structures for next year, and think about your crop rotation. Take this time to think about what went well this year, and what you would change for next year.

There is still a lot to do. Gardening is not just a spring or summer past time so stick with it, enjoy the process and prepare for the next growing season.

If you have enjoyed this article, check out some of my other articles and come back each month for the jobs for that month. If you got value please consider subscribing to my blog to be notified each time I release new content like this. You can do that easily and free by completing the blog signup form in the right-hand sidebar

Tony