Autumn gardening to do list
12th Sep 2022
Meteorologically, 1 September was the first day of autumn – although you could be forgiven for thinking the season began much earlier this year with all the leaves that have already fallen.
The summer drought, with hosepipe bans in many places, has seen gardens and allotments across the country look a little different this year to normal. But whatever changes the 2022 summer has brought, there are still the usual autumn gardening jobs to be done.
The grass is greener…
When there’s rain!
Without water, lawn grasses can stop growing and turn brown, particularly if the top 10cm of soil dries out. But don’t despair if your lawn has turned brown! In most cases it is merely in a dormant state and will start to recover as normal service and rainfall returns.
Spiking and aerating the ground will help the rain penetrate and sink down to the roots when it does come and prevent it from merely rolling off compact soil. Check out our range of aerators to see which would best suit your needs. Advice is that you can’t do too much spiking.
Once the lawn is reviving, give it a good feed – but don’t use weedkiller to attack any weeds that have sprung up – and when you mow do so with a raised height of the mower blades.
Some parts of the lawn may not restore and will be dead. In which case, now’s the time to re-seed or re-turf those areas.
Autumn leaves
Some of the main casualties of the summer drought have been the trees and leaves. Many trees are now as bare, and gardens strewn with leaves as if in late autumn.
We have a great range of rakes, leaf blowers, grabbers and collectorsto help with clearing the ground.
And leaf mould makes an excellent, environmentally friendly mulch. You can simply put the leaves in a bin liner pierced with holes, or stake out an area in a sheltered part of the garden, moistening the mound of leaves if they become dry.
Hedge trimming
The hot summer has seen growth slow down across the garden, and never more so than with hedges. But with the return of some rainfall, hedges have begun to grow.
Hedge trimming is not recommended between March and August because of the potential for birds nesting. But autumn is fine for getting those hedge trimmers out. Cutting back is important not only to make the hedge look neater, but excessive growth prevents light and moisture getting to where it’s needed.
Cutting and chopping
Whether you’re doing the felling or cutting up fallen branches, either to recycle via your local authority, or to use for firewood or in your garden, Draper has a wide range of axes, log splitters and chainsaws from which to choose.
Pruning
Autumn is the time to cut back a number of plants that have finished flowering, such as climbing roses, to thin fruit bushes and generally tidy up beds ready for the winter months. For the smaller or more delicate jobs, secateurs are ideal, and with different types on offer, we’ve created a quick guide to help you choose which is best of you: A quick look at secateurs – bypass, anvil and ratchet. We also offer a range of loppers for the bigger pruning jobs.
Seasonal planting
While harvest and harvest festivals are often uppermost in thoughts during September and October, these months are also a time for planting. October is perfect for putting in daffodil bulbs ready for next spring, while radishes, turnips, carrots, spinach and kale are great options for vegetable bed planting.
