Now summer's over you may have thought that gardening was on hiatus until spring, but there is plenty to be doing over the coming months. Gardening expert Sarah Raven has in fact shared several jobs she's planning on getting done now autumn has arrived.
After completing the essential September gardening jobs, the majority of your plants should have been taken care of and prepared for the cold weather. However, there's still much to do and it's finally time to start planting your seasonal bulbs.
Sarah Raven has taken to her podcast to reveal which vegetable bulbs she plants this time of year. But she didn't stop there, she also revealed how beloved Monty Don helps her with his advice.
Sarah Raven's vegetable planting advice
Talking on her podcast Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange, Sarah Raven discussed the numerous October jobs that need to be done in the garden this month.
Aside from the bulbs you need to plant now for colourful spring flowers, she discussed what hardy vegetables should be planted to ensure a successful winter harvest – growing garlic for instance.
"I always have in my mind onions, garlic and shallots. I tend to plant them near the shortest day of the year, to harvest near the longest day of the year," Sarah says. "These are sets, obviously you can do them from seeds in the spring around March, but these are sets."
After revealing her timing process for planting the bulbs she also shares the wisdom she learned from Monty Don, a fellow celebrity gardening expert. Now we know Monty is well-versed in bulb planting, we still look forward to creating his famous bulb lasagnas each autumn.
"I remember Monty Don showing me this," Sarah reveals, speaking about Monty Don's foolproof advice for growing the 'tastiest' garlic cloves.
"You want to start them off in little modules, I know that adds a stage but I think putting them in modules for two to three weeks and then planting them out once the roots have come through the bottom of the module gets them off to a good start."
Planting them in modules means putting each bulb, or clove in the case of garlic, into a separate seed tray section. This way they have a chance to fully develop roots during the most vulnerable first few weeks.
Using this method gives your bulbs a better chance of surviving the winter. Although luckily these vegetables are very hardy and won't need protection from the frost like other plants.
"So whatever happens with the weather outside you're gonna get bulbs, whether that's onions, garlic or shallots, that don't bulge but root and grow well through the wet and the cold," she says.
Sarah recommends doing this towards the end of this month and even into the month of November. She does stress the importance of ordering your bulbs as soon as possible, so you make sure you snap up the varieties you want.
Shop winter-ready vegetable bulbs
RRP: £13.50 | These need to be planted in autumn, and each bulb should be broken up into separate cloves and planted individually. This specific type of garlic is bred on the Isle of Wight and produces large bulbs that will keep until November.
RRP: £7.99 | This is a really great deal for the price as each shallot will yield around 6-8 bulbs when harvested. They are easy plants to grow and are hardy so you won't have to panic about caring for them too much over winter. Plus they're very sweet and delicious!
RRP: £10.99 | There's nothing quite like homegrown onions. This pack from B&Q are to be harvested in June and July when their leaves begin to turn yellow.
Now you know when to plant spring bulbs why not get ahead and start with your tulips too? This is the ideal time for tulip planting and doing so will guarantee you have a stunning display of colours in your garden come spring.
