Homeschool Garden Club - Autumn Tidy Up

Now that it is proper autumn we need to have an autumn tidy up. Here at the Orchard Training Garden Club this is what we are doing to make the most of our autumn gardens. In our next session, we will be clearing out the leaves from the gutters around the shed. We will be sweeping the paths and picking up leaves. The pond will need protecting from the leaves off the blackberry bushes and the cherry tree. Some of you are also very lucky to have a pond. Decomposing leaves will turn our ponds in to a soup of foul water. We need to spread a fine meshed net across the pond and pin it down with bricks. We will need to remove any leaves that fall onto it and add them to our leaf mould bin or compost heap. More free mulch coming our way!

If you need some pocket money, you could offer to help anyone with a greenhouse to clean the white paint off the glass, all it takes to bring the glass up sparkling clean is a bucket of hot water and some elbow grease and somebodies time - like yours! However, this is a boring job and I am sure that somebody might appreciate a hand for some pocket money.

Then you can help them bring in the over wintering plants.

Another pocket money job for you – offer to clean the pots and seed trays in preparation for spring sowing and planting.

In one of our sessions we will learning how to cut back perennials and taking care of them over the winter. We don't need to be too tidy - so the plants can house insects and the seed heads feeding the last straggling birds. They also look good in the winter frost.

In another session, we will be planting pansies, bells daisies and wallflowers.

We will also have a session where we will mulch all the beds. it is a simple case of putting the stuff on the ground and letting the worms do the work over the winter.

The tree next door sends me lots of tree seedling which I have moaned about over the last three years. However, at this time of the year the three sends me plenty of free leaves. Leaf mould adds structure and organic matter to my soil and is a great way to recycle fallen leaves.

So, I will be sweeping particularly over paths areas where decomposing leaves make a dangerously slippery surface. I have a sheltered spot that won’t spoil the view of my garden. I have made wire mesh cage and will be filling it with the leaves, sprinkle with water and letting nature take care of the rest.

Once the leaves reach a crumbly texture, we spread as a mulch throughout our Garden Club borders. If we all pull our leaves together we will have a great mixture. Although we need to remember that different leaves break down at different speeds. Oak, alder, beech and hornbeam rot down quickly while the sycamore leaves along with walnut, horse chestnut and sweet chestnut will take a little longer. We can rotate the pile over time.

Again this year, the Orchard Training Garden Club has been very active with the compost bins so we won’t need to do too much with them. However, the autumn clear up of borders and vegetable plots always generates a lot of plant material for a compost heap. Now is the ideal time to clear out last year's compost if you haven’t already down so after our session and use it around the garden, making room for this year’s waste.

If your compost isn't quite ready, turn it to improve decomposition, and create a new heap next to it for fresh organic matter. You can never have too much compost.

Before your parents or grandparents store the lawn mower at the back of the shed for the winter, it’s well worth reminding them to send it for a service to ensure that it’s in perfect condition when they need it next spring.

Shears and secateurs need sharpening, while spades, forks, and other tools benefit from a good wash. Dry everything thoroughly and oil metal parts to prevent rust. Wooden handles can be cleaned and protected with linseed oil – but do dispose of rags carefully as linseed can combust as it dries.

Now our Orchard Training Garden Club garden is clean, tidy and ready for winter it is a really lovely view from the window. We will have a head start when spring arrives, when it will be time to get growing again.

In the meantime, we have a few gardening things to do inside over the next coming months. Look out for gardening magazines and seed catalogues collet them together, as we will still have some things up our gardening gloves for our evidence diaries.