Streamside News…Autumn ‘21
The long days of summer are now behind us, and as we move forward into autumn it is 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.
PRODUCTS IN STORE…
We will have an extensive range of colourful Autumn (planting) bulbs available to ensure that your garden looks sunning next Spring. Bulbs will be on sale at the store from Sunday, 05 September. Our bulbs are coming directly from Holland and will include your usual favourites plus many new varieties . (There will more information in an email next week). With a bit of planning you can ensure that there’s something beautiful to look at in your garden from early Spring.
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, just ask one of our team who will be pleased to help you.
TOP FIVE GARDENING MISTAKES…
Gardening can require some trial and error. If you notice one of your plants isn't doing well, for example, you might try replanting in a different spot, giving it a little extra water, or adding more nutrients to the soil. While you might have to try several different tactics to fix the problem, there are a few almost-universal gardening errors to avoid so you can keep your garden in top shape. Luckily, most of them are easy enough to correct; perhaps you need to adjust the way you water or switch to natural pest control methods. But if you make sure to avoid these common gardening mistakes, you'll set your plants up for the best success possible.
1. Not Testing Soil
Soil can vary from one spot in your garden to another. If you haven't done a soil test you have no idea what kind of nutrients (or lack thereof) are in your soil. Without that information you have no way of knowing what you may need to add to your soil in order for your plants to thrive. Soil can also change from one growing season to another so it's important to test your soil every year or two.
2. Watering the Leaves
Overhead watering isn't the best idea. Not only do you risk wasting water as it blows in the wind, but too-wet leaves also can become a breeding ground for fungus and other disease-causing microbes. Consider a drip irrigation system or soaker hose instead. This way your plants get the moisture they need from the soil directly at the roots where they need it most. Schedule your watering in the early morning hours before it gets too hot and evaporation speeds up.
3. Not Adding Compost
Plants use up nutrients while growing. One of the best ways to replenish the supply is to add compost. This decomposed organic matter also helps your soil to hold onto moisture better, while at the same time improves its drainage. You can purchase it from garden centres or you can make your own at home; all you need is a bin to pile up your yard and kitchen waste. Then, add a 1-2 inch thick layer of compost to your garden beds in fall or spring, right on top of the soil.
4. Ignoring Pest Control
Aphids and other garden pests will make quick work of your plants. But using poisons to get rid of them isn't the only solution. Safer options for your family and the environment include choosing pest and disease-resistant plants; encouraging beneficial insects and birds to eat the destructive bugs; removing pests by hand and using a strong jet of water to knock them off your plants. There are also several nontoxic sprays and traps you can try. The most important thing is to scout regularly for pests and deal with them as soon as you spot them, before the problem can get worse.
5. Not Using Mulch
Think of mulch as the insurance policy that protects all of your hard work. Similar to compost, it helps your soil retain moisture (which means using less water in your garden), and certain types of mulch also can add necessary nutrients back to your soil. A 3-inch thick layer of mulch can help prevent weeds from sprouting too, which means less work for you!
A COUPLE OF SEASONAL RECIPES USING PRODUCE FROM YOUR GARDEN…
Pumpkin Muffins – makes 12
Ingredients
225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground cinnamon (or 2 tsp pumpkin spice)
100g caster sugar
50g soft light brown sugar
200g pumpkin purée (from a can or homemade)
2 large eggs
125g slightly salted butter, melted
Method
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases. Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and both sugars together in a large bowl. Break up any lumps of brown sugar by rubbing them between your fingers.
Whisk the purée and eggs together in a jug, then add to the dry ingredients with the melted butter. Whisk for 1-2 mins with an electric hand whisk until just combined.
Bake for 15 mins until golden and risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Lift onto a wire rack to cool completely. Will keep for three days in an airtight container.
Autumn Tomato Chutney – makes 1.5 litres
Ingredients
1kg ripe tomato, peeled and chopped
750g cooking apple, peeled, cored and chopped
375g light muscovado sugar
250g onion, chopped
250g raisins
1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 tsp salt
½ tsp ground ginger
350ml cider vinegar
Method
Put all the ingredients into a large pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Boil the mixture, uncovered, for about 45-50 mins until the fruit is tender and thickened. Cool, then transfer the mixture to a sterilised jars and seal.
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 produces a good level of crops -:
September
Fruit and Veg
Store unblemished apples and pears in a cool, dry place.
Start taking hardwood cuttings of gooseberry and redcurrant plants.
Sow mizuna for peppery autumn salads.
Earth up the stems of brassicas so they stand firm in winter gales.
Transplant spring cabbages into their final growing positions.
Cut the fruited canes of blackberries and tie in new ones.
If gooseberry foliage has become mildewed, cut it off and burn it to prevent infection next year.
Place pumpkins on a hard surface to keep skins intact, which will help them to survive winter storage.
Let the skin of marrows and squash ripen and harden in the sun before harvesting for storage.
Plant hardy varieties of onion sets and shallots.
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
Keep watering containers, as September rain is unlikely to keep them adequately moist.
Protect dahlia flowers from earwigs by trapping them in upside-down straw-filled pots, release them onto your veg plot.
Support tall flowers by tying individual stems to canes.
Add faded foliage and stems of your flowers to your compost bin.
Keep deadheading roses and late flowering perennials to keep them flowering into the autumn
Plant hyacinth bulbs.
Sow annual herbs to get one more crop before winter.
Deadhead dahlias and ensure labels are legible to propagate any favourites next year.
Lift and store gladioli bulbs.
Prune rambling roses, taking out old stems and tying in new ones.
Bring tender perennials inside.
Keep camellia plants well watered, otherwise their flowering performance next spring may be stunted.
Miscellaneous
Tidy and clean your greenhouse to make it ready to overwinter tender plants.
Continue removing pond weed and algae remembering to leave it next to the pond for a day before composting.
October
Fruit and Veg
Prepare the ground for planting new fruit trees and bushes.
Harvest the last of the fruits of all your tender crops such as aubergines, courgettes and squash before they succumb to frosts.
Make new fruit plants from hardwood cuttings – blackcurrants, whitecurrants, redcurrants and gooseberries work well.
Sow hardy broad beans and peas under cloches
Cut asparagus foliage at soil level then mulch.
Clear away old bean sticks and tomato stakes.
Tie grease bands around the trunks of fruit trees to protect them from winter moths.
Chop Jerusalem artichokes down and harvest roots
Flowers
Rake up fallen leaves of roses to prevent blackspot overwintering.
Pot up prepared freesia corms for fragrant indoor flowers.
Clear away summer bedding plants from beds and borders.
Plant out wallflowers ready for spring. Their roots need plenty of time to develop well.
Plant new herbaceous perennials, taking care to research their height and spread, so you can put them in the right place.
Sow sweetpeas in deep modules for early flowers next year.
Plant Dryopteris ferns in dry, shady spots for attractive foliage.
Prune roses that aren’t carrying displays of hips
Plant lily bulbs in pots
Empty spent hanging baskets
Miscellaneous
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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
November
Fruit and veg
Stop feeding citrus plants and only water them sparingly.
Check newly planted garlic and put back any that have dug out by birds.
Start winter pruning grape vines after leaf fall.
Harvest kale leaves regularly starting with the outer leaves, taking a few leaves form each plant.
Plant fruit bushes now to give them time to root before spring.
Clear old crops now adding them to the compost heap
Check stored fruit and veg, removing any that are rotting
Pick late-ripening apples and pears
Tidy strawberry rows, removing old runners and weeds
Stake tall Brussels sprout plants.
Start digging parsnips once we’ve had some frost as they ger sweeter.
Flowers
Check sweetpea seedlings are not being nibbles by mice.
Protect seedlings of hardy annuals sown earlier in the autumn with fleece during any cold spells.
Continue planting spring bulbs for naturalising in your lawn.
Tie in loose stems of climbers and wall shrubs that could suffer form winter winds
Order bare-rooted roses for planting during the winter.
Plant tulip bulbs now.
Propagate echinops and verbascums by taking root cuttings.
Protect Japanese maples by moving int o a greenhouse or porch.
Clear top growth of annual climbers
Move wrongly positioned shrubs
Plant bulbs in empty pots
Bring in succulents to protect over the winter
Bring forced bulbs into the light if they are beginning to shoot.
Miscellaneous
Empty and clean water butts, before putting them back in place ready to collect rainwater over the winter
Treat decking and timber structures with preservative.
Protect outside taps and hoses over winter to prevent damage from freezing weather.
The next Newsletter will be Winter 2021, and will be available at the end of November/ beginning of December 2021.
Don’t forget we will be closing for our winter break end of October so stock up on all your gardening requirements before then.
https://www.streamside.store/
We will re-open for business the first Sunday in February 2022.