What to do in the garden in November

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What to do in the garden in November

November is a busy month in the garden. Time spent now in pruning, tidying and protecting your plants and trees will pay dividends in the spring.

Weeding in November prevents roots thickening and spreading over the winter months, making them a nuisance when the temperature warms up in March. So as soon as ground becomes clear, dig over the soil and spread manure. This is also a good time to double dig areas of ground where total replanting or a new vegetable garden is being planned or poor/heavy soil is preventing growth.

Just remove the top layer to form a shallow trench and then dig over the soil at the bottom of the trench adding compost. Then repeat, filling the first trench with the top soil from the second; the soil from the first trench then fills in the last trench.

Tidy and prune straggly shrubs, hedges and lawn edges. However, do not cut down your perennial plants too much as they provide valuable seed heads for the birds to eat and cover for small creatures during the winter. Protect overwintering summer plants (e.g. geraniums) with fleece or bring them into the house. Clear containers and tubs of any remaining bedding plants and plant with winter pansies or spring bulbs. Winter hanging baskets and window boxes should also be planted now using varieties such as heathers and primroses. If you have a pond place a net over it to catch any falling leaves. Clear leaves from beds and lawns and place them in a compost bin if you have one. If you have a greenhouse, clean and air it thoroughly before closing or insulating it for winter use.

November is a good month to work on fruit bushes and trees. Trim back and cut away any dead stalks in blackberry bushes. Weed strawberry beds thoroughly and clear the area around the summer’s young suckers. Summer fruiting raspberries need to have last year’s wood trimmed out while autumn fruiting varieties should be pruned back to a foot or so as they will fruit on the new wood produced next year. Ensure young trees are well-supported with stakes to prevent damage by strong winter winds.

If you have a vegetable plot, now is the time to harvest your cabbage and cauliflower. Leeks and Brussel Sprouts should also be ready for lifting as should your turnips, swedes and spinach. Late carrots should be raised and stored in sand; wooden boxes are perfect for this so ask your local wine merchant for a wine crate. Check any vegetables already in store for rot, particularly potatoes which should be stored away from light at around 5◦c and in hessian bags (never plastic) or in paper sacks with the top left open.

November is the month to plant garlic. If the soil is heavy or has a tendency to hold water, plant each clove on top of a layer of sand and cover it with light compost. Early broad beans and hardy peas can also be sown in November.

Finally, start making plans for the spring. If you have never grown fruit or vegetables, November is the perfect time to start.

It may seem like a daunting task but the effort will pay dividends in the long run. Here’s how to prepare the perfect vegetable patch from scratch.

Choose a space in your garden. For best results your vegetable patch should be in full sun for most of the day and in a sheltered spot, in front of a sunny wall or fence is ideal. Measure out your vegetable patch to the size required.

Then clear the space. Whether your chosen area is lawn or bed, it needs to be cleared first. For lawn the easiest way is by using an ordinary garden fork. Push the fork into the ground as far as it will go and pull back to lift a section of the grass-topped soil. This can go onto your compost heap. Repeat this process until the area is completely dug. Don’t worry if the soil level looks a bit low, this will be eventually topped up once preparation is complete.

Add a mulch such as well-rotted horse manure or leaf mould. You will need a lot of mulch for the first year’s dig to give it a good start. As a guide to how much you’ll need, get roughly 1 foot deep to cover the whole area. Then double dig the area (as above) and leave the vegetable patch to rest. Prepare to start planting!

Deciding how and what to grow can be difficult for novice gardeners so Gardening Direct has come up with the answer: Vegetable Plot Collections in which the varieties have been carefully selected to ensure fresh vegetables throughout the year with the plants automatically delivered at the optimum time for planting.

For more information see www.gardeningdirect.co.uk.

Finally, enjoy November and plan for those sunnier days!

Tony Milne