3 things to get right for autumn growing

You may already be noticing the light in your veg garden is shifting as the sun gets lower in the sky. Depending on your plot, this can really change your growing patterns in autumn and winter. Trees and buildings that, at the height of summer, were not a problem can now begin to block the sunlight leaving some beds or parts of your garden in shade for most of the day.

When it comes to planting in September and October, it’s worth taking this into consideration. If you’re growing in pots and containers, you can be a little more selective about where you put them to make sure they have maximum sunlight. If you’re growing in dedicated raised beds or similar, you may not have much control, but you can be careful to choose to plant in the beds that get the most sun, and you may be able to prune down some bushes a little to let more sun in.

The more warmth you can provide, the better. Plants will grow stronger, faster and healthier for just a degree or two of extra heat in the soil and air around them. You can provide a little extra warmth in several different ways – just choose what works best for you and what is most easily achievable.

If you have a greenhouse or polytunnel, then it is really well worth growing your autumn and winter veggies under cover. You may have a sunny porch or conservatory, and that will work well if you can put a few pots for veggies there.

Hoop tunnels like the ones pictured are a great idea – you can get them covered with fleece or with polythene/biodegradable film, and they are re-usable which makes them a good option. There are so many options out there, so do some research to see what you can find that will work for you and your garden.

Autumn is a great time to nourish the soil whether you are planting up for winter or winding down until next spring. If you are going to carry on growing, we’d recommend digging in plenty of good quality compost, ideally homemade, and/or mulching heavily with something like leaf mould.

Wormcast fertiliser is an excellent way of adding nutrients into the soil and you can do this ahead of planting by digging it in or sprinkling it over the soil ahead of heavy rain. You could also add a sprinkling to each hole as you are planting. We would also recommend watering in new plug plants with a liquid feed when you first plant them out.

For heavy clay soil, it’s worth digging in compost etc to help make it less waterlogged during the wetter months. This will help to prevent root rot.

We wouldn’t advise using manure if you are planting in Sept/Oct, as it will be too rich for plants, but you could use it if you’re not planting again until spring as it will have time to break down.