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November is not the end of the gardening season, there are still jobs to be done, but personally I spend little time in the garden until things dry out a bit. The one thing that will get me outside though, is to rake leaves off the lawn before the grass starts to die off. Also November is the best month for planting tulip bulbs and winter vegetables need looking after. However I much prefer to light the fire and look through the seed catalogues and start planning the next year.
My borders are looking very green and I want to get more colour into them next year, so I am looking for long flowering perennials to grow from seed. The fuchsia and phlox provide good colour but the other perennials finish up too quickly so it’s time for change. Rudbeckia, Echinacea and Coreopsis are top of the list but it will take a bit more planning. Also taken by the bold Australian daisies which come in a number of varieties and colours. Whatever the final choice they will need to be drought resistant as the weather this June and early July emptied the water butts.
My runner bean support frame was looking a bit old this year and sure enough it collapsed under the weight of a bumper crop, so I picked what I had, put the whole lot in the compost and cut the frame up for fire wood. Next year I will go for a frame made from 8’ sturdy bamboo poles with an apex and 10 strings up each side. One of the big successes this year was “Cobra” climbing beans which produced a massive crop of long French green beans, so there will be 10 plants up one side of the frame and 10 “Scarlet Emperor” runner beans up the other side. The trench is already dug and filling up with garden and kitchen compost. I will empty a compost bin into it in April, rake over the top soil and erect the frame ready for planting in May. “Rocket” will definitely be the early potato of choice next year. They are the earliest of the earlies and produce a good crop of scab free white tubers with a decent flavour. They also produced second prize at the October show so the decision is made. The other discovery this year is that “Oarsman” leeks knock the spots of the autumn giants I have been growing for years. I ordered them by mistake only to find that they are longer, thicker and can produce a much better blanch length.... plus first prize!! Everything else will be the same in the veggie patch next year with the exception of the “Aperitif” tomatoes which were a total failure. These are a new hybrid and touted by the seed producers as the sweetest tomato. However, hormonal damage and blight finished them off before I could pick any.
So my mind is nearly made up about the seed order but I will wait awhile before placing it. Then the seeds will go in a large glass jar with a screw top to keep them dry, but not the leeks. Remember that it is 40 weeks from sow to show so they will be sown in December. For those of you who like to grow giant onions, they should get under way in December as well.
Also next year I will be more ruthless with my apples. The young Braeburn produced a mass of blossom this year and thousands of small fruits. I thinned out 95% of them but still ended up with a lot of small apples. I will thin them out by July after the “June Drop” to give them time to grow to size by the end of October.
Make the most of the winter months to work out your plans for next year....remember that gardening is meant to be fun, if it’s not you are doing it wrong. Time to put another log on the fire and while I’m up I will get a “frosty” from the fridge...... I do enjoy gardening!!
We are always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the 3 shows we hold each year, then please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you.
If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on: 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email: rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk
Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society
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