Fading light conditions can make time for the allotment almost impossible if you’re busy or work full time. It’s well worth removing weeds and spreading manure or organic compost if you can. Being productive now should save time come spring – and your soil will love you for it.
- Make a leaf bin and start collecting fallen leaves to make leaf mould
- Plant autumn garlic
- Prune apple and pear trees
- Prune soft fruit bushes and mulch with fresh compost, manure or wood chips
- Top up empty beds with organic matter such as compost or manure
- Cover frost tender plants at night with horticultural fleece, don’t forget greenhouse plants!
- Plant new bare-root fruit trees, bushes and canes
- Make a note of what your grew and where, include successes and failures – it will help you plan crop rotation for next year
- Continue tidying and harvesting the last crops
- Sow hardy broad beans (Aquadulce Claudia) and peas (Meteor) for an early crop late spring
- Make or buy bug boxes or ‘hotels’ to help beneficial insects survive the winter
- Remove fallen leaves from the surface of wildlife ponds
- Plant spring bulbs for a splash of colour
- Order seed catalogues
- Don’t forget to bring frost tender potted plants inside before the first frost arrives!
Allotment Haven 