The allotment in September

Prune, pick and store fruit – and there's more veg to sow and harvest

Sow lettuce under glass for a winter supply

'Pick tomatoes and, once they have finished, lift and shred plants and add the shreddings to the compost heap.'

Extra storage in the large coldframe

The allotment and kitchen garden

Fruit

FALLEN FRUIT: Pick up all fallen fruit daily and most can be used.

HARVESTING: We harvest 'Discovery' and 'Katy' apples that are now becoming ripe and Victoria plums regularly. Harvest raspberries such as the juicy 'Autumn Bliss'.

PRUNING: Give trained apples and pears a late summer prune (about week three), rather than in winter, to avoid silver leaf and bacterial canker. We prune stone fruits after fruiting at the end of September to maintain the shape of trained forms. Prune out old raspberry canes and tied in new canes of all summer-fruiting raspberries.

STORED FRUIT: Check all fruit (and vegetables) already in store. Remove rotten ones before produce spoils.

Vegetables and herbs

BRUSSELS SPROUTS: Stake.

CATERPILLARS: Pick them off by hand from all brassicas.

CELERY: Mound up celery in trenches.

COMFREY: Cut comfrey to put on the compost heap as required.

CORIANDER: Pot up leaf coriander into 2-litre pots. Cut leaves for use as a garnish for curries and salads. DIGGING: Dig over vacant areas in cool weather. It is worth spreading the digging out as much as possible.

GREEN MANURES: Cut tops of green manure mustard.

Empty potted potatoes into a wheelbarrow for easy harvesting

HARVESTING: Harvest basil, cabbage, carrots, chives, kohl rabi, parsley, radish, spring onions, sweetcorn and turnips. We also harvest runner bean 'White Swan'. We harvest seed from heritage varieties broad bean 'Crimson Flowered' and pea 'Forty First'.

MAINCROP POTATOES: Start to lift maincrop potatoes, then dig over newly vacant beds.

ONIONS: Sort through onions and shallots and remove those that show signs of rot. Lift and string up the remainder into net bags and put in store.

PLANTING: Plant endive, lettuce and leeks. Plant out young cabbage plants. Plant onion sets such as 'Senshyu Yellow'.

REMOVING PLANTS: We remove runner beans and tomato plants from our reclaimed garden and French beans from the parterre.

SLUG CONTROL: We spread organic slug pellets in the ornamental kitchen garden.

SOWING: Sow broad bean 'Express' onto an area vacated by cabbaages. Simply broadcast sow and use them as a source of green manure.

TOMATOES: Pick and, once they have finished, lift and shred plants and add the shreddings to the compost heap. All unripe fruit can be laid out on greenhouse benching to encourage ripening. Remove sidesohots from remaining cordon tomato plants.

WEEDING: Weed through vegetable beds.

Look further

Nick and Sue Hamilton run Barnsdale Gardens in Rutland, Leicestershire, formerly owned by the late Geoff Hamilton.

* Photography: Redshift Photography

* See related articles at the bottom of this page for more on jobs to do throughout the year in the garden, greenhouse and on the allotment, plus practical advice and more...