It’s a busy time in the garden as summer gives way to autumn. Most people think September’s all about harvesting – and there’s certainly plenty of that. But there are other key jobs to get on with if you want your garden to keep on giving, and to avoid problems that could carry over into next season.
Join Ben in his garden as he reveals his 12 essential tasks to complete this month. From helping crops to ripen and preserving the last of the summer’s bounty, to saving your own seeds and taming unruly hedges – there’s lots to keep the gardener busy!
Want to preserve more of your own garden-grown goodness?
Here’s our video on freezing: https://youtu.be/XmZCxXKAcCk?si=0OmRE60AWosDcnx4
And this video covers the basics of canning: https://youtu.be/ABzE2jI3YpM?si=Oi5MX6-Er6L1zbeV
Catch up on the best crops to sow in September here: https://youtu.be/Et_f2uN–1Q?si=S8pcaGK4_P3lA7AF
If you love growing your own food, why not take a look at our online Garden Planner which is available from several major websites and seed suppliers:
https://www.GrowVeg.com
https://gardenplanner.almanac.com
https://gardenplanner.motherearthnews.com
and many more…
To receive more gardening videos subscribe to our channel here: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=GrowVeg
If you’ve noticed any pests or beneficial insects in your garden lately please report them to us at https://BigBugHunt.com
26 Comments
Do I need to go through the bed and clear out/pull up roots that may have broken off when I pulled out old vegetables?
I love your videos. Nonrelated question. I had planed od putting woodchip between my raised beds. But that is a costly affair. So now I am planning on laying leafs and use it next year on my beds and lay a new layer of leafs on the path. Good or bad idea??
That AiLon Musk ad is a fraud originating from Pakistan, why is Google not blocking it !!!!
Please please please learn how to use a kitchen knife properly. That technique will lead to chopped fingers. So easy to be safe
Self saved seeds are also more adapted to your climate. I live in Sweden where we can some years have very cold winters. I save as many seeds as I can. Carrots, dill, potatoes (for seed come spring) lettuce, spinach, onions, I save some of my hard neck garlic for next fall season planting, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes etc. etc. etc… Lots more but, these are the ones that come first to mind.
My potatoes especially have really benefited from saving my own potatoes for seed potatoes the following yr. Since I do the no dig method or Ruth Stout method, it took my potatoes 2 yrs. to get used to that method as well as the climate. This season I did a comparison with store bought seed potatoes and my own seed potatoes. From the "new" potatoes I harvested barely 10 kg. from a bed the size of 2 meters x 4 meters. From my own seed potatoes growing in a bed that is 2 meters x 10 meters. (yes, bigger than the store bought seed potatoes) I received nearly 60 kg. of fairly good sized potatoes. Less damaged to them as well so… I feel that proved my theory of self saving seed being more productive.
Your kitchen is as pretty as your garden!
I depend on your videos Ben, but I have a bit of advice for you this time! I live in the Pacific NW so I use filbert (AKA hazelnut) shells as mulch. Slugs used to shred my Hosta plants and my strawberries but not anymore. Hazelnut shells are available on the internet now. Slugs cannot slither across the sharp edges of the shells.
I don't use very many, but rather, I just sprinkle them around the plant and refresh them every spring. I have not seen a single slimy trail anywhere! Thank you for all your wonderful teaching!
A while ago I cut away some parsnip stalks. Later I developped a nasty, big blister on my wrist. I didn,t cook that day. So it wasn,t caused by hot steam. This happened twice. Can this really be caused by juices in the stalks?
By the way you are our hero who talks to us late at night
Great advice 🙂 thx for all the reminders! Grew my 1st summer crops as my 1st year as a gardener, and were saving lots of our faves (and even things we didn’t love) for the next season. We’re buying new varieties that we’d like to try for fall & winter. You never know when you’ll meet a new gardener, we love sharing the abundance!
Great video as always 🙂
Great video as always Ben, thank you. Especially the pinning down of strawberry runners with staples, always drove me mad that they would spring out of the pot and I never thought of that.
The hesitation I have with saving seed is cross-pollination. I have different varieties of tomatoes; chillies/peppers, lettuces, broccoli etc. Unfortunately the bees will fly between all of the flowers without discriminating and, from what I've understood, that messes up the varieties and makes what you may get next year totally unpredictable.
Ben, I made your pickles out of my sweet lime pickles !! Oh my thank you ! I have canned several jars of them for later with my last cucumbers coming in.
I’ve been following your videos all year and I can’t tell you what a difference it has made! I’ve never been successful at growing tomatoes before, but this year I have bucketfuls and I’m filling the freezer. My other veggies have done so well that I haven’t bought any vegetables for our family of five for months! I’m so chuffed and so grateful. You make gardening such fun and your videos are memorable and great to watch. Many, many thanks 😊
Zone 8 where? I'm in London 5A.
👍🤓🪴🧑🏻🌾
Thank you for the Beanstache! 😂
Nonnie says it looks like your Compost is better fed than a lot of modern people. Sadly.
👍👍🇺🇸
Are this rules tips also effective for Mediterranean climate ?
Hi Ben, Love the Videos and after watching them I got to wondering if you have a heater in your green house? I have a green house and use 2 small heaters to keep the plants warm in February (I start my flowers indoors and transfer them to the green house) am I doing the correct thing
Have you ever tried planting skirret? It is tasty and easy to grow. I saved hundreds of seeds to share with friends and it is a perennial. You dig up the roots. Cut off the tap roots then replant the root crown. The tap roots get bigger each season. If you leave them too long in the ground, they will get tough and woody. You can plant in the fall or spring. I planted in the spring and harvested some in the fall and some in the spring. The ones I left until the next fall were too woody and not tasty. The roots are white and taste like a cross between a carrot and a parsnip. First year they were about the circumference of a pencil, second year more like a marker. I didn't get to go any further because we moved and I lost my garden space.
Great ideas here!
I grow my strawberries in hanging baskets in my greenhouse and polytunnel.
Great list – will be doing all of those plus more I expect 😅
Man I love your channel! So informative and you speak in layman's
What cover crop did you sprinkle in the kale bed? I couldn't make out what you said. Thanks.