September in the Garden Show Notes

September is the month of mellow mists and fruitfulness and in this month’s Dig It podcast Peter Brown and Chris Day look at how the gradual change in seasons is beginning to affect what we harvest, plant and sow in our gardens.

Sowing a new lawn, a look at the best edible flowers and how to get the best from your green waste are discussed. Plus, a look at the different cyclamen options available at the Garden Centre, keeping hydrangeas in tip top colour and battling with leaves in our ponds.

Buckingham Garden Centre hosts its special Apple and Honey Show Weekend over 25th and 26th September so we find out more about this annual celebration of apples and the Bucks County Honey Show on the Sunday.

6th September is National Read A Book Day https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/national-read-a-book-day-2021/ 

Peter’s read is Treatment Free Beekeeping by David Heaf (published by IBRA & NBB)

Chris’s book is Bulbs For All Seasons by Kathy Brown (publisher Aquamarine)

Check out Bramblecrest’s Portobello Double Hanging Cocoon Chair - a perfect reading spot for your garden!

Apple and Honey Show Weekend 25th & 26th September (10am-4pm, both days), Gerry Edwards, The Mid Shires Orchard Group, BBOWT, plus Bucks County Honey Show on the Sunday.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 21-26th September. The BBC will be covering it as usual.

Recycle Week 20-26th September Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Peter has been lifting his ‘Desiree’ potatoes from his allotment. For more information on blight resistant potato varieties, please refer to our earlier Potato podcast

What to sow / plant now:

Veggies Broad bean ‘Aquadulce’ and ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ and Pea ‘Feltham First’ and ‘Douce Provence’, Radish and Turnips (for Christmas). Planting onion sets in autumn means you will get an earlier crop next year. Choose a variety that’s ideal for autumn sowing, such as ‘Autumn Champion’ ‘Radar’ or ‘Senshyu Yellow’. Salad crops mustard leaf, winter salad mixes, or mizuna. Winter lettuces such as ‘Winter Density’ can be sown under glass. Spring cabbages and spinach can be sown now for picking next spring.

Edible flowers Borage, Cornflower (seed sow now), Courgette, Squash, Marrow and Pumpkin (deep fried in batter), Lavender, Nasturtium (seed), Hollyhocks, Pansies (seed), Pinks, Pot Marigolds, Rose, Sage, and Sweet violets.

Comfrey which is sterile (so no free seeding) is Symphytum x uplandicum Bocking 14

Florist cyclamen vs Mini cyclamen vs Hardy cyclamen (available in Garden Centre)

Blue Hydrangeas, you need a good quality ericaceous (acid) compost to keep them blue and if you have pink Hydrangeas then a Multi-purpose John Innes Compost is fine.

Westland Hydrangea colourant (500g) available at Garden Centre. Hydrangea feed for blue flowers

Sowing a new lawn from seed and the types of grass seed available.

Composting bins and Garotta

Bird food and suet balls.

Useful links

How to make comfrey tea https://www.ruralsprout.com/comfrey-liquid-fertilizer/

Music by Chiltern Music Therapy

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