TINA WOODHAMS GARDENING NOTES FOR NOVEMBER
Jumpers, coats and boots at the ready! Gardening is a fabulous way to keep active and warm during the colder month of November. It can be the start of a really productive time, catching up on all those tasks that we haven’t had time for during the past busy months and preparing for the year ahead.
Protect plants and structures in anticipation of the forthcoming colder and wetter weather ahead. Insulate outside pots in bubble wrap or hessian sacking to protect from frost and prevent them from becoming waterlogged by raising them off the ground for the winter using bricks or 'pot feet'. Move tender plants in pots such as lemon trees, plumbago and oleander into the greenhouse or conservatory, this is also a good time to thin out any dead or damaged stems.
Lift gladiolus corms and begonias tubers to store in a dry and frost-free place over the winter months. Any dead foliage should be removed to prevent rotting. It is prudent to protect the more tender flowering bulbs and tubers over winter after cutting them down, those such as agapanthus and dahlias will benefit from being covered with a mound of mulch or compost to prevent snow and rain from gathering in the hollow part of the stems.
It has been, in previous years, good practice to dig up dahlias and store over winter, however as our climate is gradually warming many gardeners are of the opinion that they are best left in the ground and with our wetter winters now they can almost be impossible if lifted to dry enough to store without rotting.
Continue to cut back yellowing foliage of perennial plants and prune roses to prevent wind rock.
Keep clearing the seemingly endless mountains of fallen leaves from lawns and pathways. Lawns will benefit from aeration to avoid waterlogging and subsequent growth of moss; you can either use a lawn aerator or simply insert a garden fork at regular intervals into the turf to create drainage holes.
As November is our bonfire season, burn any diseased garden waste that is not suitable for composting, ensuring that you are permitted to do so first!
Now is a good time to plant tulip bulbs for a spring display next year, these perform better if they are planted deep so cover them with at least twice their depth of soil or compost. Sow sweetpea seeds for an earlier show as they overwinter well.
Plant bare-root trees, hedging, shrubs and roses ensuring that they are staked and protected from pests such as rabbits using tree guards.
In the vegetable patch… protect your salads, peas and beans with cloches bearing in mind that good ventilation is crucial so if necessary leave the ends open to ensure adequate air circulation.
Leave any netting on brassicas to protect from pigeons and rabbits and check that ties on fruit and vegetable supports are in good order to prevent against wind damage.
Tidy up strawberry plants, cutting off any dead leaves and removing runners which can then be potted up to create new plants to replace any old ones, particularly those which are three years old or more and producing fewer fruits. Apply grease bands around the trunks of fruit trees.