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Steve Ott and Emma Rawlings

Jobs for September

September marks the start of a busy time on the allotment – part two of the veg growing year.
As well as harvesting veg and ever more fruit as late summer turns to autumn, we continue a new round of sowings and plantings to ensure a harvest through the winter and well into the spring

 

September at a glance

Sowing now...
• Winter lettuce
• Peas
• Turnips
• Perpetual spinach
( see page 63)
• Parsley
• Spring onion
• Radish (early in month)
• Chinese radish
• Oriental leaves

Planting now...
• Spring cabbage
• Garlic (see page 76)
• Salad leaves
• Chard
• Turnips
• Onion shallot sets
• Perennial herbs

Harvest now...
• Summer cabbage
• Celariac
• Runner beans
• French beans
• Broad beans
• Aubergines
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Broccoli
• Beetroot
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Endive
• Chicory
• Leeks
• Kohl rabi
• Cucumbers
• Marrows
• Early squashes
• Courgettes
• Potatoes
• Salad leaves
• Blackberries
• Apples
• Pears
• Perpetual strawberries

Fruit in brief

• Early varieties of apple such as ‘Katy’, ‘James Grieve’, ‘Discovery’ and ‘Greensleeves’ can be harvested this month. Lift the fruit gently in the palm and twist gently. If the fruit comes away easily complete with stalk, it is ripe, but if it resists leave in place for a few more days.

• Birds will just snap up those ripening autumn raspberries, blackberries and perpetual strawberries if you let them, so take precautions. Netting is the most foolproof way of protecting your crop, but there are others, a few of which were tried and tested in KG last month.

• The first outdoor grapes should be ready for harvesting this month – exactly when depends on your site and situation, so pick a few berries and taste test them, they should be soft and dessert varieties sweet and delicious. If not, leave them for a little longer. Harvest by cutting the bunch with an inch of main stem either side of the junction with the stalk to give a ‘T’ shape. This can be placed in water to keep the bunch fresher for longer.

• Although autumn-fruiting raspberries do not require much support, when the canes are at full length and heavy with fruit they can become a little unwieldy and vulnerable to damage by the wind. Four stakes and some strong string or wire around plants is all that is required to keep them safe and tidy.

Fruit in brief

 

KG QUICKIES

KG Quickies tip• Stake tall-growing veg such as Brussels sprouts and the last of the broad beans to prevent wind damage.

• Continue to feed tomatoes with a high potash fertiliser to help ripen the remaining fruit. If the weather is cold or your garden exposed, trusses can be removed for ripening on a sunny windowsill. Alternatively, whole plants can be uprooted and hung upside down in a sunny, warm spot or dry shed to complete the ripening process.

• Pick sweet peppers, either green or once they have ripened and changed colour. Chillies can be picked for drying in a single layer on a baking sheet or newspaper. Alternatively, thread onto strings and hang in a cool, dry place (NOT an airing cupboard).

• Move citrus trees that have spent the summer outside, back into the greenhouse or polytunnel to protect them from possible cold nights and chilly winds later in the month.

• Harvest kiwi fruit as soon as they show the first signs of softening when pressed gently with the thumb.

For more advice, see this month's issue, available to buy online!