After what has been a frustrating summer at times, we move forward into autumn, it’s worth investing some time on a regular basis to ensure your garden continues to look good. We are pleased to forward your autumn newsletter from Streamside Horticultural Association which we hope will give you help and advice for the season ahead.
Streamside Really Does Give Value For Money…
As a local association run by volunteers with limited space, it’s hard for us to compete with some of the big gardening centres, but we do aim to offer a good selection of products for gardeners of all levels of experience, at competitive prices.
In most cases the cost of your annual membership (£2.00) will be returned in the savings you will receive on your first purchase! Please do tell your friends and neighbours that if they are looking for gardening products at great prices then joining Streamside is very worthwhile.
Products in Store…
We will have an extensive range of colourful autumn (planting) bulbs available to ensure that your garden looks good next year. Bulbs on sale will include alliums, daffodils, tulips, muscari, hyacinths (indoor and outdoor), crocuses and many more all in a wide variety of colours...do come along to the store and see our selection. Planting now will ensure your garden has a boost of colour next spring – and with a bit of planning you can ensure that there’s something beautiful to look at in your garden every month.
Autumn is also a good time to boost your soil by adding manure, compost or other fertilisers; this will give you a head start for next year’s planting in your garden or allotment. We have a wide range of soil improvers available – if you’re not sure what is best for your requirements, then just ask one of our team who will be pleased to help you.
Thrifty Corner…some ideas to save cash
Check the reduced section of the garden centre. Given a little TLC, the plants will usually be as good as new.
Only use the recommended amount of weedkiller or fertiliser. It’s tempting to add a bit extra, but this is often wasted and can even damage plants.
Spray aphids with a solution of chopped chillis and a little washing-up liquid.
Defend against slugs with a garlic spray or barriers of crushed egg-shells and grit.
Turn an old frying pan that has lost its non-stick coating into a bird bath.
Use laundry detergent bottles as watering cans and the lids as cane toppers.
Don’t cut twine until after you’ve tied it in place so you only use what you need.
Repurpose the compost from last year’s growing bag as a soil conditioner.
Spilt established clumps of perennials at the root to make several smaller plants.
Ask local farmers or stables for horse manure. You will need space to let it rot down for at least a year before using it, but then it makes a great free soil improver.
Seasonal Recipies using Produce from Your Garden…
Quick-pickled celery, chard and carrots – makes a 500ml jar
Ingredients
400g mixed, prepared celery, chard stalks and carrot
1 tbsp fine salt
250ml cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 bay leaf
A couple of sprigs of thyme or rosemary
1 tsp coriander seeds
A few black peppercorns
Method
Trim off any green leaves and dirty or damaged bits from the celery and chard stems, then cut into roughly 1cm pieces. Peel and trim the carrots, then cut into thin half-moons or quarter-moons, depending on the girth of the carrot. Check that you have 40g prepared weight of raw veg.
Put the prepared veg into a bowl, add the salt and mix well, then transfer to a sieve or fine colander placed over a bowl. Leave for about half an hour – the salt draws out a lot of liquid from the veg.
Meanwhile, thoroughly wash and dry a 500ml capacity Kilner jar or a robust jam jar with a vinegar-proof lid.
Pack the salted veg into the jar (don’t rinse the veg first, but do discard the salty liquid in the bowl)
Put the cider vinegar, sugar, herbs, coriander seeds and peppercorns into a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and let it bubble for 2 minutes
Immediately pour the pickling liquor over the veg in the jar, keeping the herbs out, but making sure the peppercorns and coriander seeds go into the jar. The veg must be completely submerged in the vinegar. Seal the jar straight away and leave to cool.
Store in the fridge for at least a week before opening, then use within 10 weeks (keeping the jar in the fridge).
Pumpkin Soup with Chilli and Sour Cream – Serves 4
Ingredients
1 kg peeled and chopped pumpkin
4 tbsp olive oil
1-2 red chillies deseeded and finely chopped
1 clove garlic
365ml milk
750ml chicken or vegetable stock
Handful of roughly chopped coriander
Sour cream to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C, 180 C fan, 400 F, gas 6. Put the pumpkin in a roasting tin, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 15 – 20 minutes, until tender and a little browned at the edges
Tip the pumpkin, chilli and garlic into a saucepan with the milk and stock and bring to the boil (don’t worry if it splits). Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes. Cool a little then whizz in a blender until smooth and season well.
Stir through the coriander if using, and top each bowl with dollop of cream.
Some Things to do in your Garden This Season…
The following lists are just some of the seasonal tasks that you may like to consider to ensure that your garden or allotment continues to look good, and produce a good level of crops :-
September
Fruit and Veg
Look out for brown rot on fruit trees and remove any infected fruit to avoid the disease spreading.
Protect brassicas from hungry pigeons.
Cut out old canes of blackberries after fruiting then tie in the new canes.
Earth up winter brassicas for stability.
Maintain your supply of herbs by planting out seedlings of biennials, dividing perennials and taking cuttings.
Sow oriental salad leaves.
Plant hardy varieties of onion sets and shallots.
Sow green manure crops to cover any bare soil.
Leave a few plants of salad crops such as rocket and watercress to flower and set seed, which will provide free seed for next year.
Any flowers that form on outdoor tomatoes are unlikely to turn into ripe fruits, so remove the top of each plant so that it puts its energy into producing ripe fruit rather than unwanted leaves and flowers.
Flowers
Plant new perennials so they can benefit from warm soil and autumn rains.
Dig up tender perennials like osteospernums to overwinter indoors.
Start planting spring bulbs, leaving tulips until later in the autumn.
Replace tender bedding plants with hardy plants.
Plant spring bedding such as wallflowers and forget me nots.
Take softwood lavender cuttings.
Lift and store gladioli bulbs.
Plant aconites, fritillaries and crocus in lawns.
Sow hardy annuals such as calendula and godetia for early summer flowers.
Prune rambling roses, taking out old stems and tying in new ones.
Keep camellia plants well-watered, otherwise their flowering performance next spring may be stunted.
Lift and divide congested clumps of perennials, including phlox, campanula and hemerocallis.
Take salvia cuttings as an insurance against a hard winter.
Keep deadheading roses, penstemons and dahlias to extend their display.
Lawns
Sow new lawns or repair patches now while it’s still warm.
Raise height of mower blades to protect from frost.
October
Fruit and Veg
Pick apples frequently before they become damaged.
Harvest and store pumpkins.
Sow hardy broad beans and peas under cloches.
Cut asparagus foliage at soil level then mulch.
Sow green manures over bare soil for enrichment.
Cover endives in order to blanch their leaves.
Wrap bands around fruit tree stems to catch winter moths.
Chop Jerusalem artichokes down and harvest roots.
Plant lettuces in a cool greenhouse for daily salads this winter.
Remove dead leaves from strawberry plants.
Clear summer crops and dig or manure.
Save runner bean seeds and store in a paper bag until next spring.
Flowers
Collect fallen leaves to make leaf mould compost.
Lift and store gladioli corms
Prune roses that aren’t carrying displays of hips.
Cut back plants hanging over paths and fences.
Life and divide congested clumps of perennials.
Take hardwood cuttings from many trees and shrubs.
Remove diseased foliage from roses and burn it.
Plant lily bulbs in pots.
Empty spent hanging baskets.
Check pansies for greenfly attack
Remove fallen leaves smothering bedding displays.
Miscellaneous
Ventilate your greenhouse on warm days.
Build log and leaf piles out of prunings and other clippings at the back of borders – to provide shelter for frogs, beetles, hedgehogs and other creatures for protection and hibernation.
Scrub clean all the dirty pots and seed trays that have accumulated during the year with soapy water to kill fungal spores.
Empty and clean water butts, before putting them back in place ready to collect rainwater over the winter.
November
Fruit and veg
Fork over bare areas of your veg plot to expose pest eggs and larvae to the birds and frost.
Sow hardy pea varieties directly into the soil during mild spells.
Plant pot grown rhubarb, and split any large crowns if your soil is well-drained.
Clear old crops now adding them to the compost heap.
Bring any marrows or pumpkins under cover.
Check stored fruit and veg, removing any that are rotting.
Pick late-ripening apples and pears.
Tidy strawberry rows, removing old runners and weeds.
Prune blackberry canes that bore fruit this year, and train in the new canes to horizontal wires or supports.
Stake tall Brussels sprout plants.
Plant new fruit bushes, there’s a great selection of bare-root and pot grown from specialist fruit growers..
Flowers
Sow sweet pea seed now for earlier blooms next year.
Order bare-rooted roses for planting during the winter.
Tie-in climbers.
Clear top growth of annual climbers.
Move wrongly positioned shrubs.
Plant bulbs in empty pots.
Plant winter and spring bedding using wallflowers, forget-me-nots, pansies, violas and polyanthus.
Cut back clematis viticella and texensis to ground level, removing all their top growth completely.
Bring in succulents to protect over the winter.
Plant indoor narcissus now for scented flowers in the New Year.
Miscellaneous
Repair broken panes, doors and vents in your greenhouse.
Fix wobbly fences and posts.
Clear out bird nest boxes.
Protect outside taps and hoses over winter to prevent damage from freezing weather.
The next Newsletter will be spring 2025, and will be available at the end of February/ beginning of March 2025.
Don’t forget we will be closing for our Winter break end of October so stock up on all your gardening requirements before then. We will re-open for business 2nd February 2025.
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