ESSENTIAL JOBS CHECKLIST FOR JANUARY

• Clean and sharpen mowers, shears and other tools


• Mulch around fruit trees and established plants


• Protect phormiums, cordylines and other tender plants by wrapping them with
  bubble polythene or horticultural fleece


• Clean out your greenhouse wash down hard surfaces using Armillatox


• Keep an area of your pond ice-free


• Don ’ t forget to leave out food and water for our Native Wild Birds
  

TOPICAL TIPS FOR JANUARY


Flower Garden

• Tidy up your borders if you didn't do it in the autumn and put the debris
  on the compost heap. Mulch between trees and shrubs, to improve soil structure
  and fertility. You can use Westland ’ s Farmyard Manure if your soil needs
  feeding up. Phormiums and cordylines need to be protected from sever frost and
  snow – tie the leaves loosely together and cover with horticultural fleece or
  bubblepack. If you are planting a new hedge, prepare the site before planting by
  digging it over and adding homemade compost or Westland Farmyard Manure.


• This is a good month to put a fresh layer of bark around plants, this helps
  to keep plants insulated in severe weather.


• Seed is now available, its always a good time to stock on these to avoid
  disappointment

Going Green

• Start saving all used egg shells, these form a very environmentally
  friendly way of deterring snail and slug damage to plants in the summer months.
  


• Remember even in winter put all kitchen waste such as potato skins onto the
  compost heap.

Lawn

• Take the opportunity to check over your lawn mower and trimmer and clean
  them. Arrange to have the mower sharpened if necessary.


• Ensure the last of any late falling leaves are cleared to avoid a build up
  of pests and disease.

In the Greenhouse

• Hygiene is crucial in the winter greenhouse; otherwise grey mould may
  infect over-wintering plants. Pick off old flowers and dying leaves and dispose
  of them. Don't over water plants. Open vents during clear days to allow airflow.
  

Containers

• Even in winter containers of winter bedding such as pansies and ivies may
  need watering in dry conditions.


• If you have tender specimen plants protect them from the cold with fleece
  or bubble pack.


• A lot of people loose expensive plants such as Boxwood and Bay trees this
  is not due to the weather but lack of water so don ’ t forget to check every two
  weeks.

Vegetable Garden

• Dig over new plots and leave roughly dug to allow frost to break down the
  large clods.


• Empty out your compost bin over the vegetable plot this will allow the
  elements to break down large pieces naturally.

Fruit Garden

• Prune blackcurrants and raspberries.


• Plant new fruit trees.

GARDENING TIPS

DECEMBER
  ESSENTIAL JOBS CHECKLIST FOR DECEMBER

• Store terracotta pots in a shed unless you're sure they're frost-resistant
  


• Line your greenhouse with bubble-wrap for insulation


• Move houseplants off windowsills at night


• Send off for lots of seed and plant catalogues

  TOPICAL TIPS FOR DECEMBER


Flower Garden

• If you're feeling energetic get out and do a bit of digging. Start a
  programme of conditioning and improving your soil. To do this successfully you
  need first to find out what sort of soil you've got, whether it's acid, neutral
  or alkaline, whether it's sandy, peaty, stony, loamy or sticky with clay. If
  you're new to gardening ask your neighbours. Buy a soil testing kit – this will
  measure the acidity of your soil. Any soil will benefit from having organic
  matter added so while you're digging add plenty OF Westland ’ s Farm Manure.
  


• As long as the weather remains dry you can continue planting evergreens
  


• Clear up any fallen leaves and cut back perennials if you haven't already
  done so curl up in front of the fire with lots of colourful catalogues to give
  you lots of ideas for next year

Lawn

• Clean your lawn mower. When spring comes you'll be glad you did


• Never allow leaves to build up on lawns as they will cause disease
  

In the Greenhouse

• Save energy and keep your greenhouse warm by lining it with bubble pack
  


• Potted azaleas need to be watered with rainwater. Feed them weekly with
  Liquid Ericaceous Feed and stand them on damp gravel. When they form buds you
  can take them into the house if your prefer but continue to treat them in the
  same way. They do prefer to be kept on the cool side.


• You may think pests are dead or hibernating but unfortunately whitefly and
  greenfly find greenhouse very congenial all the year round. Be on the lookout
  for them and spray as necessary

Containers

• Trees and shrubs can be planted in containers in fine weather. For permanent
  plantings like these choose J Arthur Bower's John Innes No. 3.

Vegetable Garden

• Clear away the remains of old crops and put them on your compost heap.
  Remember to add biological compost maker every 15 cm (6 inches)

Herb Garden

• Protect bay in very cold weather or if it's in a container move it to a
  sheltered spot

Fruit Garden

• Take hardwood cuttings of currants and gooseberries. The cuttings should be
  about 25-30 cm (10-12 inches) long and should be buried in a trench in the open
  ground to about half their length

November

NOVEMBER
ESSENTIAL JOBS CHECKLIST FOR NOVEMBER

• Plant conifers and evergreens


• Clear leaves and compost them


• Sow peas and broad beans


• Spike lawn and give it an autumn feed


• Protect tender outdoor plants from frost


• Start stored poinsettias into growth for Christmas

TOPICAL TIPS FOR NOVEMBER


Flower Garden

• Frosts can strike in November so make sure you have some horticultural
  fleece handy to throw over tender shrubs


• November is a good time of year to plant new hedges. You cab order bundles
  of bare-rooted hedging plants in garden centres now. Prepare your site well,
  digging on lots of organic matter such as homemade compost or Westland ’ s Farm
  Manure before you plant


• Harden off autumn-sown sweet peas by keeping the cold frame open as much as
  possible during slight frosts. If the temperature drops below – 2 C (28 F) close
  the frame and covers it. Watch out for aphids on the young plants

Roses

• Roses need very little attention this month – just make sure they're all
  tidied up for the winter

Lawn

•   This is your last chance to catch up with jobs you didn't do earlier, such
  as aerating your lawns and applying an autumn feed

In the Greenhouse

• Pot on cuttings of tender perennials that were taken in September. Use
  Multi-Purpose Compost or John Innes No. 2 if you prefer.


• Keep the greenhouse well-ventilated to keep diseases at bay

Containers

• For a splash of colour plant a container with some of the colourful
  ornamental cabbages now available or winter-flowering heathers. The heathers,
  varieties of Erica carnea prefer an ericaceous compost


• If you have cordylines or other tender shrubs in pots protect them from
  winter frosts. Remember that some terracotta pots are not frost-resistant and
  should be stored through the winter

Vegetable Garden

• For an early crop of broad beans sow varieties such as "Aquadulce Claudia"
  and "Reina Blanca"


• Peas can be sown for an early crop.


• If your cold frame is standing idle use it to grow a crop of
  carrots

Herb garden

• If you have a bay tree in a container make sure it's in a sheltered place
  or protect it with fleece for the winter

Fruit Garden

• Established trees can be winter-pruned this month

 

October

  ESSENTIAL JOBS CHECKLIST FOR OCTOBER

• Bring in tender perennials, trim and store in a frost-free place


• Mulch your border with homemade compost


• Start a new compost heap


• Compost summer bedding and plant up containers with bulbs and winter
  bedding


• Plant bulbs in the garden.

TOPICAL TIPS FOR OCTOBER


Flower Garden

• Continue to plant bulbs in the open garden. Enrich the soil in the planting
  hole with a sprinkling of Bonemeal


• This is also a good time of year to plant new shrubs and perennials. The
  warmth in the soil will help them to get quickly established. Be generous with
  the planting mixture and be sure to water in well in dry weather


• October is a good time of year to move established evergreens and conifers.
  Get a friend to help and dig them up with the biggest rootball you can manage.
  Prepare the new planting site well with lots of your favourite planting mixture
  – make sure to include  bonemeal to boost root formation. Then water in very
  well. You'll need to continue for several weeks until the plant becomes
  established


• Dig up dahlias as soon as frost blackens the foliage. Cut back the stems to
  about 10 cm (4 inches) and remove as much soil as possible before standing the
  plants upside-down for about a week to allow them to dry out. Store the tubers
  in boxes, covered with slightly damp peat. If you don't have a frost-free
  greenhouse or shed, you can keep the tubers in a spare bedroom or unheated porch
  

Going Green

• At this time of year the amount of material suitable for composting
  multiplies alarmingly. Summer bedding, trimmings from perennials and fallen
  leaves will all rot down, so don't waste them. Use up all your existing homemade
  compost to mulch around established borders or to add to planting mixtures for
  new acquisitions. Then start a new compost heap. Always mix together the
  different materials – this helps decomposition. Whether you favour a
  purpose-made compost container or an open heap, you'll find that the addition of
  a biological compost maker will help you produce high quality compost easily and
  cheaply.

Roses

• If blackspot or rust has been a problem try and pick off infected leaves as
  far as you can and dispose of them – don't put them on the compost heap. If they
  fall to the ground and blow about they will spread the infections next year.
  

Lawn

• New lawns can be laid or sown on well-prepared sites


• Scarify established lawns with a rake, then aerate with a fork if you
  haven't done it already. There's still time to use Autumn Lawn Food

Greenhouse

• Check through all pots that have been growing in the greenhouse or that
  have been brought in from the garden. Destroy any vine weevil larvae that you
  find


• Stop watering tuberous begonias and allow the tops to die off. Then remove
  the tubers from the compost and store in a cool, dry place


• Bring late-flowering pot-grown chrysanthemums into the greenhouse for some
  late colour


• Wash shading off the windows and consider insulating your greenhouse with
  bubblepack

Containers

• As well as planting containers with bulbs and spring bedding, consider
  planting a couple with small evergreen shrubs to give a bit of structure and
  green through the winter months. Euonymus, ivies and dwarf conifers are ideal.
  

Vegetable Garden

• Harvest carrots and potatoes, making sure the crops are clean and dry before
  you put them into storage. Marrows can be stored once their skins have been
  hardened in the sun


• Finish picking tomatoes before the plants become diseased. You can hang up
  the whole plant to ripen green trusses, or alternatively pick the fruit and
  ripen it individually. Or you could always make some green tomato chutney!
  

Herb Garden

• To ensure a supply of fresh mint during winter dig up some roots and plant
  them 5cm (2 inches) deep in a seed tray in Multi-Purpose Compost. Keep the tray
  in the greenhouse.


• Clumps of chives can also be put into pots and brought into the
  greenhouse

Fruit Garden

• Prepare site for planting bare-rooted fruit trees and bushes. No fruit
  trees like poor drainage so if your soil is heavy add plenty of Silvaperl grit
  or gravel as well as organic matter when you dig it over


• Finish harvesting autumn-fruiting raspberries and cut down all the canes
  that have fruited this year

September.

 Flower Garden

• Buy spring bulbs for next year. Most bulbs, including daffodils, hyacinths,
  lilies and small bulbs are best planted this month or in early October. Tulips
  are better planted towards the end of October


• Give evergreen hedges a final trim to ensure they are neat for the winter
  


• Now's the time to go around your garden collecting seeds from perennials
  and annuals. Collect seed heads in paper bags and leave them in a warm place to
  dry for a few days, before cleaning and storing in small envelopes. Some gardens
  that open to the public offer see-collecting days – a great way to find
  something unusual. Most seeds are best sown in spring


• Sweet pea lovers may find that sowing seed in autumn produces stronger
  plants. Do not soak the seeds as they are liable to rot. Use Seed and Potting
  Compost and sow the seeds in root trainers, sweet peas tubes, pots or trays. It
  has been found that dark coloured seeds germinate well in fairly damp compost,
  but pale seed require compost that is only just moist. Cover the containers with
  glass or put them in a propagator and keep at around 15 C (59 F). When the
  seedlings appear transfer them to a cold frame. Pinch out the growing tips when
  the plants are about 10 cm (4 inches) high

Rose  Garden

• Shrub roses and ramblers can easily be propagated from stem cuttings at this
  time of year. Take a length of stem about 30cm (12 inches) long and trim it off
  just below the bottom leaf. Remove the soft tip just above a root joint. Take
  off all but the top two or three leaves and push the cuttings into a well dug
  trench in the garden to about half their length. They should be left for 12
  months to root and develop


• If rambler and climbing roses have got a bit out of hand, spend a bit of
  time tying them in

Lawn

• Aerate the lawn with a fork or special tool then apply Scotts Autumn Lawn
  Food to nourish your lawn through the winter months


• You can continue to re-seed bare patches on your lawn. It's also a good
  time of year to prepare the ground for sowing a new lawn, while the earth is
  still warm

In the Greenhouse

• Bring in cacti and houseplants that have spent the summer out of doors


• Continue to take cuttings of tender perennials


• Buy prepared bulbs for Christmas flowering and plant them in bowls of Bulb
  Planting Fibre. The added charcoal will keep the compost sweet even if the
  container has no drainage holes, but make sure you don't saturate it


• If you have kept indoor cyclamen plants from last winter you should now
  start watering them. Water from the bottom by standing them in a shallow tray
  and allow to drain thoroughly.

Containers

• Your summer bedding will probably still be looking so good that you can't
  bear to throw it out yet. Keep them going until they look tired. Remember that
  you can overwinter many tender plants. Take them out of their pots and brush off
  most of the old compost so that you can trim back the roots. Also trim the top
  growth. Then place them in a tray with some damp, but not saturated,  peat
  covering the roots and store them in a frost-free place


• When planting daffodils in containers its worth planting two layers of
  bulbs, slightly staggered one above the other. This will ensure a spectacular
  display. Plant the bulbs deeply enough to allow you to plant winter and spring
  bedding, such as winter pansies, primroses, violas and wallflowers on top
  

Vegetable Garden

• Sweetcorn will be ready to harvest when the silks have turned from golden to
  brown. For the sweetest taste, cook them within minutes of cutting


• Ripe onions should be lifted carefully and laid out to dry before storing
  


• Continue to harvest runner beans and courgettes. Make sure you don't leave
  runner and French beans too long otherwise they will be stringy and tough


• If you're sowing out of doors this month you can speed up germination by
  putting a cloche over the seeds

Herb Garden

• Parsley can be sown now for an early spring crop


• Tidy up your herb garden by dead-heading and trimming back perennials and
  discarding annuals

Fruit Garden

• Cover autumn-fruiting blackberries and raspberries with netting to keep off
  the birds, but check daily to ensure no animals or birds get trapped


• Pick early varieties of apples as soon as they're ripe and eat them – they
  won't keep.