Peter's Tips for October

Fabulous Indian summer in September!  So dry and warm in the South.

As I write the trees are beginning to colour up, so there is going to be a spectacular autumn show on trees and shrubs caused by the near drought in England.  

The harvest has been in some areas fantastic, others not so good.  The sun has made apples, pears, plums, nectarines and autumn raspberries very tasty. 

Now is the time to pick and store apples and pears – only unblemished ones.  Turn into cider or perry damaged ones and leave some for the wildlife - birds, butterflies - Red Admirals, foxes, badgers, voles and mice …..

The smell of ripe apples and pears is intoxicating – that cidery smell yum yum! I might have to go and sample a pint!

The last couple of months have been incredibly busy, working at RHS Wisley Flower show and visiting RHS Members gardens in need of gardening advice.  With this in mind I thought I would give you a flavour of the queries and questions asked of me and the Gardening Advice Team at RHS Wisley.

Pear Rust: Orange raised blotches on virtually every leaf.

It seems to have been an epidemic this year and weather conditions (a wet June) have helped spread this fungal disease and makes the trees look unsightly.  Sadly little can be done to control it.  Collect up leaves if possible and burn.  Keep trees fed and watered and hope for better weather conditions next year or its going to be a disease we will have to live with.  It doesn’t appear to weaken the pear tree too much.

Agapanthus: Not flowering well in pots.  

The underlying problem appears to be a lack of feeding.  Agapanthus need building up the autumn before the production of flowers the following summer.  Wet conditions during last winter and cool conditions in spring also didn’t help!  Water in a high potash liquid fertiliser – Vitax Tomato Feed or Q4 Flower and Fruit feed – weekly until we get the first frosts and the foliage goes yellow. Protect from frost too.

Mildew on many plants: Powdery mildew on many plants – phlox, roses, courgettes, honeysuckles …..  

Weather conditions are again the main cause again – so dry here in the south.  Wet June followed by very dry July through to September.   Stressed plants are prone to fungal and disease attacks.  If we get run down we too are more prone to colds and flu!! Plants are the same so keep them happy - fed and watered around the roots. Vitax Liquid Seaweed fertiliser works well on stressed plants.  Read the label for application rates.

Maggots in Apples and Plums:

Sadly there has been a lot of damaged fruit this season, caused by several species of moth caterpillar – Apple/Winter and Plum Moth. Pheromone traps combined with Vitax Fruit Tree Grease applied now, and again in February, to the trunk of the trees to control Winter Moth will help.  

Jobs to do this month:

• Make room in the compost bins for all the leaves to come!  This is free garden compost – I know it’s a pain but it really does help your plants.  Use a rotary mower to hoover up and add Vitax Compost Maker.
• Add mulch or compost to bare soil in the vegetable area, leave on surface for worms to pull down – no digging!
• Buy garlic, autumn onion/shallots for planting.
• Buy spring flowering bulbs – daffodils, crocus, tulips etc.
• Plant winter flowering plants such as winter flowering heathers, foliage plants for containers with pansies, violas, Primroses and polyanthus and bulbs underneath.
• Cut hedges.
• Grass cutting – raise deck of the mower.
• Treat lawns – scarify and aerate.  
• Bring tender plants into the conservatory or house – lemons, bananas, orchids, non-hardy plants such as geraniums, fuchsias, lantanas, cannas…
• Finish pruning trained fruit trees and wisteria.
• Repairs to shed roof.
• Pressure wash patio/decking and treat with an algicide such as Vitax Patio & Path Cleaner.
• Clean greenhouse, pots, tools, trays, glass, and bird tables with Vitax Greenhouse Disinfectant.
• Use a Vitax Greenhouse Fumigator.
• Make a list of the successes and failures in the veg patch and garden!
• Sow sweet pea seeds with Vitax Grow Tubes for really good long root establishment.
• Blow leaves under hedges and into shrub borders to decay naturally.  This will be great for wildlife, hedgehogs, frogs and toads hibernating and will actually feed your plants too, win win!!

Now is a great time for walking. Take a trip around parks and gardens and enjoy the autumn colours!!

If you’re close to RHS Wisley, its ‘Taste of Autumn’ event is really worth a visit between 16 – 20^th October. 

Happy gardening everybody.

Peter

About Peter Mills:

Peter has over 35 years experience in horticulture working in garden centres before becoming a radio gardening presenter with BBC Radio Southern Counties. Working as freelance consultant, Peter works with the RHS as an external advisor as well as trouble-shooting many gardening-related problems for a range of clients.