Your handy growing guide for September/October
Your handy growing guide for September/October
The final growing guide for garden success of the year.
Late September & Early October is all about reaping the rewards. Apples, pears, and the last of the plums are ready for picking. Look for windfalls to check ripeness – if they fall or come away easily with a gentle twist, they’re good to go. Autumn raspberries are also reaching their peak. Harvest little and often to keep fruiting going.
Sow Now for Autumn, Winter and Spring
While it may feel like the end of the season, there’s still loads you can sow to keep your patch productive into the colder months and beyond.
- Oriental Greens
- Mizuna, mibuna, komatsuna and mustards thrive in cooler weather. Sow 3–4 seeds in plug trays and grow them on for a few weeks before planting into borders, beds, or containers. Under cover, they’ll crop through autumn and start again in early spring.
- Winter Salad Leaves
- Mâche (Corn Salad / Lamb’s Lettuce) – sow thinly in shallow drills 20cm apart. Thin seedlings to 5cm spacing.
- Land Cress (American Cress) – sow thinly in rows 30cm apart, thin to 10–15cm.
- Claytonia (Miner’s Lettuce) – sow into 20cm spaced rows, thin to 7cm. A beautiful, edible leafy crop for cool weather.
Give your Crops a Boost with RHS Compost
After a busy summer of growing, your soil might be feeling the strain—especially in beds that have already delivered a harvest or two. Give your next round of sowings the best possible start by topping up with high-quality compost.
At NAL Plant, we stock the full range of Royal Horticultural Society Composts—perfect for refreshing tired borders, potting up autumn seedlings, or supporting overwintering crops. Whether you’re sowing direct or using plug trays, a good compost helps retain moisture, support strong root growth, and keep things ticking over as the season shifts.
Pop in for a few bags, or have a chat with the team if you’re unsure which blend to go for.
Monthly Specials
- Speedy Roots
- Radish – sow direct, every 1cm in shallow drills. Quick to mature and less pest-prone this time of year.
- Baby Turnips – sow direct and thin to 5–7cm spacing. Harvest within 6–8 weeks. Bonus: the leaves are also edible.
- Other Autumn Stars
- Spinach, Winter Lettuce, Turnips, and Spring Cabbage can still be sown now. If starting spring cabbage, use plug trays – they’ll be ready to plant out in 3–4 weeks.
- Overwintering Onion Sets can go in now too.
Green Manures like crimson clover and Italian ryegrass will help capture nutrients and protect your soil through winter.
Plan Your Garden Tasks
There’s plenty to keep on top of in the garden this month, from tying in fruit trees to cutting back summer growth and getting beds ready for winter. For a full list of important seasonal jobs to help you stay ahead, head over to the RHS jobs guide:
Explore more gardening tasks at www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/in-month/october-jobs
It’s packed with expert tips on what to harvest, prune, plant and prepare this month.
Contractor costs vary dependent on location. Please call our team for a quote.
NAL Plant Ltd
Farnsworth Farm
Welbeck Road
Bolsover
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
S44 6XF
Telephone: +44 (0)1246 241145
E-mail: enquiries@nalplant.co.uk