Essential tasks for November

Making your garden look it's best is one of the essential jobs for November.

Flower Garden

• Start plant spring your spring bulbs, make certain that you place them at the right depth.
• If you have not prepared your border spacing try planting your bulbs in large pots instead. These bulbs can then be planted later to fill in the gaps.

Tidy borders

• By November you will start to notice that your borders are starting to look a lttle messy. Any perennials past their best can be cut right down, clearing away remains and adding them to the compost heap.
• Plant new hedges Container-grown evergreens and conifers planted now will get a really good start in life, so complete new hedging projects as soon as possible.
• Divide perennial asters Perennial asters like Aster x frikartii 'Monch' produce striking display of bold daisy flowers from late summer for an attractive autumn show.
• The secret is to divivide clumps every second or third year after removing old flowering stems and replant the new sections, watering them in thoroughly.

Wallflowers

• Fill gaps in borders with wallflowers for a great blaze of spring colour.
• Try spacing wildflowers so that they will grow into one another.
• For that extra flare, why not try planting tulips with flowers in a contrasting colour between them. 

In The Greenhouse

• Clean those dirty windows in your greenhouse. Every year you will need to give the outside of the greenhouse a good wash down. General dirt, algae and grime works up on the glazing. This can reducethe amount of light getting through to your loved plants inside.
• A Good tip is to use a hose and a stiff brush, slowly spraying and brushing every glazing panel in turn. Choose a warm Novembers day to complete the job.

Insulate your greenhouse

• Now is a good time to insulate your greenhouse before the harsher months of the winter come in.
• Insulate your greenhouse with bubble polythene. When choosing find the grades that are especially for greenhouses, as these contain UV stabilisers which prevent them from breaking down in daylight.
• You can also use sheets of white polystyrene to line the glazing under the staging. This also reflects extra light back into the greenhouse.

Green House: Check the health of plants

• Check plants every week.
• Pick off discoloured leaves and dead flowers, which can encourage diseases.
• Make sure plants are free of pests
• Start watering plants a little less now conditions are turning cooler and make sure there is good circulation around their foliage, to prevent fungal diseases.

Bulbs in containers, pots and bowls

• Finish planting up bowls of spring-flowering bulbs, including narcissi, crocuses, dwarf irises and tulips.
• Place bulbs in a cool area to grow making sure they are protected from heavy rain.

Lettuces

• Start planning yourf crops for harvesting through the autumn and winter months
• Try planting hardy lettuce varieties such as 'Winter Density' in growing bags, pots or border soil. 

Kitchen garden

Pot up chives

• Chives are an easy-to-grow perennial with pompom-like lavender flowers in late spring. The flower buds are plump, purple and pointed; they're cute in flower arrangements. The thin, tubular leaves are dark green and grow 8 to 12 inches tall in dense clumps.
• You can plant chives from seed or transplant in spring. They are prolific and very easily divided in early spring, so if you know someone with chives in their garden they would probably be happy to dig up a piece for you. After 3-5 years, the crown can become overgrown and should be divided.
• Chives can be used a garnish to liven up a salad or can add flavour to potatoes and colour winter soups.

Fruit trees

• Pick apples as soon as they are ripe, remembering that some varieties can be eaten straight from the tree, while others are best left for a time, stored in a cool place to reach their peak of perfection.

Broad beans and peas

• Sow varieties such as 'Aquadulce Claudia' and 'Reina Blanca' in early November.
• For the earliest pea picking in May, sow a row of 'Feltham First'. Sowing 'Oregon Sugar Pod' under cloches this month can also provide a crop of mange tout from May into June.
• In colder areasof the country it may be best to wait until spring.

Onions and garlic

• Some Garlic cloves that are suited to our climate can be planted outside now.
• Another option is to grow them in pots to plant out later. Planting selected onion sets in autumn will give you a crop from late June into early July.

Carrots

• Use your cold frames in the winter for sowing a crop of 'Primo' carrots.

Blackberries

• Prune branches that have had fruit during the year to soil level.
• Tie new canes into their place. Very long canes can be trained back down towards the soil or wound in circles to ensure the longest length of stem remains.
• Bury cane tips into the soil to encourage root and form new plants. 

General care

Lawn care

• Spike/ Fork your lawns using a hollow-tined aerator and brush grit into the holes to improve drainage. Get your lawn in tip top condition.

Frost protection

• Keep an eye out for frost. Frost can bring a sudden end to flowering displays.
• Start bringing in any tender plants and crops under cover or
• If you run out of time throw over sheets of fleece over plants or containers to give give some temporary protection.

Clear up fallen leaves

• Make life easier for yourself and buy a garden vacuum for the garden. New designs often include an internal shredder blade fitted that chops up the leaves as they pass into the collecting bag speeding up decomposition into friable leaf-mould.

Seeds

• By saving your seeds it is cost effective and can give some fantastic results.
• Leave the last of your sweet peas on the plant to set seed and develop pods.
• Once ripe podscan be picked and the seed removed, cleaned and stored.
• Another option is to sow sweet peas now for some early blooms.
• Save seeds from peas and runner beans.

Manure

• Cover areas of bare soil with green manure crops, especially in the kitchen garden.

Houseplants

• Houseplants should be watered less as temperatures drop.

Suckers

• Prune suckersy away with secateurs or a sharp knife as soon as you notice them.