Seed hermination

 https://www.gardenbetty.com/germinate-hard-seeds/?fbclid=IwAR2P3cwpIUu70PfhyZ4kdiB6_28QJKnPQlz7WaR9a164m7CwEWMQBhtkkJo

Plant sweet peas

October is here....we can sow sweet peas....oh yes we can...

https://mailchi.mp/higgledygarden/time2sow-sweet-peas-new-varieties-discounted-bundle-guide?e=321221097e

Flowers and Fruit to plant in October.

In the ornamental garden and cut flower patch, you can make final sowings of hardy annuals to overwinter for an earlyy flush of spring flowers, along with perennials that need a cold spell to aid germination, such as primulas. Phacelia. 

Currents and gooseberries are also available to buy cheaply as bare-root plants between October and March. Plant them as soon as they arrive, as this gives them the best chance of becoming established before temperatures fall. You can plant them in a temporary spot (known as heeling in) if you need to.

What to plant in October

What to plant in October

For an early crop of peas next spring, sow hardy cultivars like 'Avola' and 'Meteor'. 

Sow direct in 5cm drills in the ground or in guttering or root trainers to plant out in a couple of weeks.

 October is also a good time to plant out peas sown in root trainers or guttering in September.

Salad mixes are one of easiest crops to grow. 

From an October sowing, you may get a small crop before winter, but then the plants will enter dormancy and not start growing again until March, when they'll provide you with an early crop of fresh salad leaves. 

Sow direct in well-prepared soil or in pots. Cover with a cloche to protect from the worst of the weather, or move pots into a greenhouse or similar for shelter.

Early-summer cropping cauliflower cultivars like 'Snowball' can be sown now to overwinter, and then planted out in spring.

 Sow in multi-celled trays and thin out to one seedling per cell. 

Keep under cover such as in a greenhouse or cold frame, and then plant out in spring.

Planted in autumn, garlic cloves will grow roots before winter and will get off to a head start on spring-sown garlic as soon as temperatures increase again, cropping by early summer. Choose a mixture of softneck and hardneck varieties for a good mix of flavours and uses. Plant into multi-celled trays or small pots for planting out later, if you have heavy soil.

Many varieties of onion can be planted as sets, now. Choose autumn-planting varieties like 'Radar'. Plant the sets into well-prepared, fertile soil. onions need a lot of moisture – you shouldn't need to water in winter but check moisture levels in spring and summer and provide extra moisture if necessary.

green manure.

https://rekhagardenkitchen.com/2019/10/

Forget lugging barrows and barrows of farm manure. Sprinkle a few green manure seeds.

Compost

How To Make Compost in 14 Days with the Berkeley Method

Recharge Your Raised Bed Soil .

Wormery. Diy.

Vegetable peel, banana skins, pea pods, tea and coffee grounds, a bit of pasta – all good food for worms.

https://www.verticalveg.org.uk/how-to-make-your-own-wormery/

Dealing with bindweed

Dealing with bindweed

What to plant in August

What to plant in August

Lettuce 

Spinach

Oriental leaves

Rocket

 https://twitter.com/TansuYegen/status/1549285234323197954?s=20&t=W0vz9Y7618x05z744s9I3A

Compost

 https://www.bitesizedgardening.co.uk/wartime-gardening-how-to-make-a-compost-heap/compost/?fbclid=IwAR3SyH8s91PFdBgk8L2z3S2suypI8MUzQi777H3KXc3s7SfHTGM8aPFZxu8&fs=e&s=cl

• April: plant new plants from bare-root runners
• April to June: plant pot-grown plants
• June to July: net plants and place straw or mats around the plants. Harvest the fruits
• July to August: once fruiting has finished, remove netting and clear straw or mats away. Start propagating from runners
• September: plant fresh plants from home-grown runners or plant bare-root, mail order runners

• How to grow strawberries

where is the best place to plant nasturtium.

 Marigolds and nasturtium repel numerous squash pest insects. 

Strawberry – These little plants respond strongly to nearby plants. 

Couple them with beans, borage, garlic, lettuce, onions, peas, spinach, and thyme. 

They also attract good bugs such as pollinators and hoverflies, a predator of common pests like aphids.

Avoid Brassicas, fennel, and kohlrabi.

How to set up a wormery.

 One of the most efficient ways of recycling kitchen waste is to use a wormery, or worm bin. These purpose-built containers house a colony of brandling worms, which consume fruit and vegetable waste, producing a nutritious worm compost.

As well as producing a rich compost, wormeries also generate a nutritious liquid fertiliser. Vegetable waste is largely made up of water, and this will drain down through the bin to collect in the bottom. The resulting liquid can be retrieved through a tap in the base of the bin. It’s a good idea to keep the tap permanently open and collect drips in a bottle or bucket below.

A wide variety of wormery kits are available to buy. Most of them consist of three or four modular trays placed on top of each other. As the worms consume the waste in the bottom tray, they move up to the next one. Simply remove the bottom tray to access the worm compost, rinse it and place it on the top, and continue to add fresh veg peelings.

Wormeries are easy to set up, but if yours is delivered by post, make sure you set up the bin within two days, as the worms may not survive if they are not quickly transferred into their bedding.

More on garden composting:

• Types of composter (video)
• Attract wildlife with a compost heap
• How to turn your compost (video)
• What’s wrong with my wormery?
• Five steps to winter compost

You Will Need

• Wormery kit
• Brandling worms
• Kitchen waste

Total time:

30 minutes

Step 1

Attach the legs and tap, add a single tray to the base unit, and then lay a sheet of paper in the tray.

Set up a wormery – putting the wormery kit together

Step 2

Soak the worm bedding block (made of coir compost) in warm water, before breaking it up into a friable mass.

Set up a wormery – soaking the coir worm bedding

Step 3

Cover the paper with the compost bedding mixture, spreading it out in an even layer.

Set up a wormery – adding in the wetted worm bedding

Step 4

Spread the worms out over the bedding and they’ll quickly start burrowing down into the material.

Set up a wormery – spreading the worms out over the bedding

Step 5

Cover the worms and bedding material with a thin layer of well-chopped vegetable peelings. As these begin to rot, the worms will be able to start feeding on them. Most kits also come with a mat that should be used to cover the material to maintain moisture in the bin.

Set up a wormery – allowing the worms to burrow down

Step 6

Finish by putting the lid on the bin, then move it to a warm and sheltered spot, out of direct sunshine. Regularly drain liquid from the bin, and dilute it with 10 parts water, to use as a fertiliser.

Set up a wormery – covering the worms with vegetable waste and moisture mat

Move the wormery to a frost-free place during winter, as worms may die if left outside.