Gardening Tips for Autumn

Ian Andersen
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

How well your garden will look next Spring can rely on what you can get done as the summer comes to an end.

Step one is to build a compost heap, it will save you so much time and make a good compost for you plants next spring.. You can simply corner of an area with chicken wire, then you can fill it with cut grass, cuttings, vegetable scraps, and with those wet leaves as they start to fall. Its important to clean away leaves and dead fruit from plants and trees as these only attract fruit fly and encourage fungal diseases.

Allow you compost stand for six months to allow for decomposition. Next spring you can use on your plants and flower beds a cheap, easy way to improve your soil and plant growth. Spread all over the garden beds and around plants and turn over the soil

Weeding
Weeds can take over the garden in a flash, so it’s important to get rid of them as soon as they pop up and before they settle in for the winter. Hoe them, pull them or flame them.

Mulching
Weeding done you can mulch your beds to protect them from a harsh winter ahead. It’s not that common place in Ireland but I saw squirrel gathers nuts early which is a sure tell of a hard winter ahead — you heard it here first.

Deadhead.
Once your flowers have finished flowering and are past their summer best you should deadhead them or cut them back: hydrangeas, roses, geraniums, .. This way they’re in a healthy state to grow and flower next spring. Remove all annuals to the compost heap..

Sow the lawn
September is the traditional month for sowing a lawn — there are quite a few stages in this process and it can be hard enough labour so we recommend getting a helping hand and pacing yourself!

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