General gardening in November |
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Don't be too tidy. Leave cutting down perennial plants until the spring. Stems and seed heads provide habitat and food for over wintering creatures and add an extra dimension to your winter garden. |
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Teasel heads in november |
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General organic gardening
Clear out bird boxes ready for spring. Put out food for birds; they will reward you by eating pests such as aphids, caterpillars, slugs and snails.
- Don't forget to leave out some water for the wildlife, in case ponds and birdbaths begin to freeze over. Leave some windfall apples out for the birds too.
- Green houses can be insulated from frost this month if you are using them for over-wintering plants, bubble wrap works well.
- Use up the autumn leaves you stored last winter. Don’t worry if there are fungi growing in the leaves; they wont harm your plants.
- It is too late now to sow most green manures - instead make use of the free supply of autumn leaves to cover bare soil and protect it from winter rains.
- Weeding done now will save time in the spring. Weed roots thicken and spread over the winter months, making them more of a problem when the weather warms up in March.
Christmas is coming
- The shop at Garden Organic Ryton has a large selection of Christmas gifts for gardeners and is open seven days a week. It will be stocking its full range of seed all through the winter. The Organic Gardening Catalogue of course never closes, and has more organic vegetable seeds than ever this year – perfect stocking fillers!
- Membership to Garden Organic and our Heritage Seed Library makes an excellent Christmas gift. Or why not ‘Adopt a Veg’ for the person who has everything!
- Make Natural Christmas Decorations workshop – Wednesday 7th December, 1pm - 4pm
Create your own seasonal decorations using natural materials. This is a practical workshop, using willow and other materials to make wreaths, garlands, wall hangings, stars and tree decorations to take home.
- More information here about the benefits of joining Garden Organic.
- Organic Gardening "Do's"
A checklist for going organic in your garden
For more detailed guidance on what is, and isn't organic, have a browse through the Garden Organic Guidelines. Call 02476 308 210 for more details.