Gardening advice for autumn
Posted on Sunday 24th June 2018
The 1st of March marks the change in season from the sweltering summer days to the cooler autumn temperatures. This seasonal change also reminds us of the different gardening jobs that need to be done to ensure a healthy and happy garden. Here are some of the essential gardening jobs you should be completing this autumn.
Pruning
Pruning serves three main purposes, all of which are a huge benefit to your garden. Firstly, it allows the removal of dead or diseased wood. Secondly, it promotes more flowering and fruit in certain plants, pruning is seen generally to stimulate new growth. Thirdly, for atheistic purposes, having a shapely and attractive plant.
Remember to keep your garden’s wildlife in mind when pruning. So don’t rush to prone spent seed heads. These seed heads provide food for a variety of birds, if you want the wildlife to thrive in your garden, these considerations are important.
General pruning rules dictate that you shouldn’t cut more than a third of the plant off. Each plant has an ideal amount to prune, depending on the growth cycle and age of flower bearing wood. Therefore, you should make yourself familiar with the level of pruning your different garden plants require. For example, a Buddleja (butterfly bush) only needs a light trim to promote its second flush of flowers. Whilst, Wisteria would have already started to bud for spring, so if you are wanting the beautiful spring flush, you cannot prune off the flowering spur.
When pruning you should always be using sharp tools. This is to avoid the cut being torn or bruised because this will slow down the healing process of the plant. Also, to stop the spread of infection between plants, always dip your tools and secateurs in bleach or disinfectant, wiping them before moving onto the next plant. After pruning, add a little seaweed tonic to the plants’ root zone, they won’t need feeding again in this way until next spring.
For a range of seaweed tonics and pruning shears, visit one of our Farmcraft stores equip yourself for autumn pruning.
Planting
Autumn is a great time for planting as the soil is still warm from Summer and is before the winter rain hits. autumn is optimal for planting some plants. For example, before the first ground frost is ideal for planting roses.
Bulbs also benefit from being planted in autumn. This is because their flowers will germinate from the soil in Spring, to join the flush of spring flowers in your garden. Bulb packets will indicate the ideal planting depth, however, if your using dug up bulbs, the general rule is that bulbs should be planted at a depth two – three times their height.
Trimming
To prevent decaying from accumulated damp, hedges should be pruned for the last time in autumn. You should aim to trim deciduous hedges without creating any holes as the holes will not grow back over the winter season, which could leave you with a bare looking hedge. Additionally, fallen tree leaves should be kept clear from lying on the hedges as they can prevent the hedge from receiving enough fresh air and sun, which can lead to rot.
Hedges vary in size, shape and density. Farmcraft has the variety of pruning shears and saws to suit all hedge pruning needs.
Fertilising
In autumn, your lawn will slow down due to the colder nights, however, the roots are still growing well, so it’s the perfect time to repair your lawn as the soil is still warm. A slow release fertiliser will allow a strong root system to develop, resulting in thicker grass. You can also add some lawn seed, to get a lusher looking lawn over winter.
Lawn’s require different levels of nutrients at different times of the year, which is reflected in the type of fertilisers used seasonally. For autumn, fertilisers normally have low nitrogen content and a high level of potassium. This is because an increased level of potassium will strengthen the grass and increase frost resistance. Traditional lawn fertilisers contain a high amount of nitrogen and make the lawn grow faster, this means they should not be used in autumn as they make the lawn more susceptible to frost.
There are many types of fertilisers: granular, organic, soluble and slow release fertilisers. Farmcraft is equipped to provide you with various products across the different fertilisers categories. We are always happy to chat about individual customer needs and our experts will recommend the best product for your situation.
Composting
There are two benefits of autumn foliage. The first is simply the beauty of it as tree leaves turn all different shades of colours. The second and more practical is that the fallen autumn leaves are essential to your garden composting.
Instead of raking and binning the autumn leaves, collect and store them in your garden compost. Wonderful garden mulch can be made via the layering your autumn leaves (regarded as brown material) and green materials (kitchen vegetable scraps, lawn clippings, etc.). Adding compost to your garden soil will ensure it is full of life throughout the year and maintain its health.
When the temperature cools down, autumn becomes a gorgeous time of year to spend more time out in your garden. Do the preventative work, tidy up your garden and get a head start on spring and prepare for winter. Visit one of our Farmcraft stores today to ask any questions about autumn preparation work, and to buy the necessary fertilisers, tools, and equipment for all your gardening needs.
