November in the Garden

 Harvesting mung beans

I tend to ignore a lot of gardening advice when it comes to autumn.  I don’t really see the need to trim back herbaceous plants and find the dead flower stems are a great place for insects to over winter so they stay in place too.  

One other bit of advice that I pass on is digging the ground to let the frost break down the soil.  We don’t get enough frost here for it to effectively break down soil and what really happens is that we get heavy rain which washes the soil away – and kills the worms as they can’t live in waterlogged soil.

The best thing to do is to leave a layer of old plants in place and let the worms do the work for you. Either mulch the ground with compost, cardboard or seaweed and let them get to work, they can rise above the wet soil. You could put a cover over the mulch but again, that’s not really necessary if the layer of well-rotted material is thick enough.  I don’t really see the point in making work  for myself and when it gets really cold and wet I have a hard time just getting outside to the bins, let alone doing any work in the garden. 

There are things we can do when the sun does shine though and here is a bit of a compilation of jobs you can choose to either ignore or tick off as you wish. 

Jobs to do in November

If you have a fish pond the fish will be less active now so you could stop feeding them and if you have any pumps or filters they could do with a service.

I was on our shed roof the other day securing a ridge tile. I’d suggest you check over shed roofs and also fence panels and posts for anything that’s rocking in the wind and secure before any really big storms.

November is a good time to plant bare root trees, shrubs and roses, hardy herbaceous plants, fruit trees and bushes. This saves you having to water them too and the roots will establish over the spring.

If you want blackcurrant bushes take pencil sized cuttings from an established clump and push into the ground. They will root in no time.

Insulate any non-frost hardy pots you have with a bit of bubblewrap. If you have plants that are on the tender side, move them into a shed/garage or closer to the house where it’ll be a bit warmer and more sheltered.

Keep checking the drains and guttering for fallen leaves. This year I have invested in some drain covers that stop leaves accumulating. I’ll let you know how effective they are.

Swap your summer hanging baskets for winter plants such as ivy, primulas, pansies and cyclamen. Keep the chain a bit shorter too as this will help reduce the basket being blown about too much and banging on the door at three o’clock in the morning.

Take hardwood cuttings of shrubs.

Collect seaweed from the beaches after any strong winds. This is a perfect mulch for the veggie patch.

Lawn repairs can be done now and the ground should still be firm enough to lay turf if you have any bare patches.

Lift and divide rhubarb if you have it in the garden. This keeps the parent plant healthy and increases your supply.  

Sweet peas can be sown in autumn and if I remember I’ll also be sowing some broad beans too so we can get an early crop next year. I say this every year but always forget so this is a reminder to myself.

If you are just not interested in doing much in the garden until spring there are things you can grow on the windowsills. Try a few herbs on the kitchen sill where you can add a few leaves to your meals. We have some mung beans growing in a cupboard at the moment (they need a bit of dark to establish and get plump) These can be put on the windowsills too along with other sprouting seeds.

 We have trays of wheatgrass coming along in the window at the front of the hall which can be juiced in the kitchen where it’s nice and warm. So I can still garden in the worst weather and I don’t even have to put my hat, coat and boots on.