september

Things to do in the vegetable garden September

• If your asparagus foliage is turning brown it is time to cut it down (watch out for spines). Remove debris from around the crowns to discourage over wintering asparagus beetle. Mulch with well-rotted garden compost. If you are planning to plant new asparagus plants next year prepare the beds by adding grit, especially if your soil is poorly drained.
• Are your tomatoes still green? Harvest the whole vine, then hang upside down in a greenhouse or indoors or lay the plant on a bed of straw and cover with cloches where they will continue to ripen.
• Or pick unripe tomatoes and place them in sealed brown paper bags either on their own (slow ripening) or with a ripe apple/banana (quick ripening). The reason for the apple/banana is due to ethylene gas production, which is a hormone that promotes ripening.
• Harvest the last of your globe artichokes, cutting only the buds that have not started to open yet.
• Keep picking runner beans, French beans, courgettes and cucumbers regularly to prolong the harvest period up to the first frosts.
• Begin lifting root vegetables for storage such as carrots, beetroots and turnips. Parsnips are better left in the ground, as they taste better after the first frosts.
• To store the root crops, choose only undamaged roots, twist or cut off the foliage and store in boxes between layers of sand or old potting compost.
• Lift maincrop potatoes. Leave them out to dry before storing (do this indoors if the weather remains wet) and store only undamaged ones in a dark frost-free place, in paper sacks tied at the neck. There is no hurry to reduce the temperature of potatoes immediately after harvest. Temperatures between 10-15 °C promote the development of a layer of protective corky tissue on the skin, and the healing of any minor wounds. After 2-3 weeks move them to a cooler spot, storing them in the dark, at temperatures between 5-10 °C
• Lift onions and shallots for storage once the foliage has died back. Dry and store in a cool, well ventilated place
• Earth up trench grown celery for the final time, leaving just the foliage poking out of the trench for blanching the stems. Harvest the last of the self-blanching celery before the frosts begin. Also earth up celeriac and leeks.