The plot in September

Jobs on the plot

• Lift maincrop potatoes. Dry them for a few hours and store in paper sacks in the dark.
• Harvest squash and pumpkins. Before the first frost. Cure them in the sun for ten days.
• Plant autumn onion sets. And spring cabbages, into ground cleared of summer crops.
• Pick apples and pears. They are ready when they come away with a gentle twist.
• Start a new compost heap. There is plenty to fill it with.
• Order garlic and fruit bushes. For planting in the next two months.

Times are for an average year in the English Midlands. Go two weeks earlier in the mild south, and two to three weeks later in the north and in Scotland.