Getting the most out of autumn crops

• Published date: 24 April 2024
• Publication title: Courier, The

Where plants have access to moisture growth is still happening, albeit slowing with shorter daylight hours. After two frosty mornings in late-March that burned tender foliage, overnight temperatures have lifted again

Deciduous and herbaceous plants are heading for their winter dormancy, with drifts of fallen leaves building up where wind eddies leave them. Collected autumn leaves are a great source of organic matter for the compost heap. Keeping them damp and mixing a few handfuls of lime and blood and bone, or some animal manure, will aid decomposition. The dying stalks of herbaceous perennials can be trimmed off, cut up, and thrown on the compost as well.

Warm summer temperatures advanced the development and ripening of summer crops in our vege garden. The garden looked very bare a month earlier than usual. Sweetcorn, pumpkin, potatoes and outdoor tomato have all been processed and stored for use over winter.

The parts of the garden these crops occupied have been sown in mustard and lupin as a green manure crop.

One heat-loving crop that’s still producing is zucchini planted in January. The leaves were frosted in March, but temperatures have been so warm since, they have recovered and are providing welcome unexpected variety.

Other longer season crops still in the garden since last spring are carrot, parsnip and yam. Our carrot crop has been excellent and we are still using the early sowing from last September. Surprisingly there’s no sign of carrot root fly, as they received no protection from this pest at all.

Parsnip is also looking promising, although we don’t usually use those until frost has sweetened the roots. Yams are looking vigorous. They need another six weeks of growth to really get good-sized tubers, so it’s a good idea to have some frost cloth handy, just in case. Watering in a handful of potash fertiliser, if not already...