The allotment in October

By Nick Hamilton

Get sowing, digging, harvesting and storing your fruit and veg this month

Cut comfrey for the compost heap

'If you have a large area to dig over or weed, pace yourself with the aim of getting it finished between now and Christmas'

The allotment and kitchen garden

CLEANING UP: Clean undercover growing areas, such as greenhouses and polytunnels.

CLEARING UP: Tidy up brassica beds and remove yellowing leaves. Remove plant debris from crops such as runner beans, sweetcorn and tomato plants that have finished cropping. Cut down the tops from asparagus and shred them before putting on the compost heap.

COMFREY: Cut comfrey and add to the compost heap

DIGGING: Dig over empty beds. If you have a large area to dig over or weed, pace yourself with the aim of getting it finished between now and Christmas. Put polythene over empty ground in readiness for early season use. If you have a no-dig system, weed through the beds.

FRUIT: Harvest apples and pears and put them into ventilated polythene bags. Store in a cool, damp place such as a cellar. Prune trained fruit, such as plums and cherries, if not done last month.

HARVESTING: Harvest celery and potatoes. Store sound potatoes in thick paper bags. Continue to harvest carrots, leeks, lettuce, runner beans, tomatoes and turnips.

LEAVES: Collect fallen leaves for making leaf mould and store either in black plastic bags with holes incorporated, or a simple mesh bin that you can make or buy.

Use fallen leaves to make leaf mould

ONIONS: Sort and store the best quality onions and shallots. Use damaged ones up first.

PLANTING: Plant lettuce 'Little Gem' under cloches.

SOWING: Sow cabbage 'Champion Giant', cauliflower 'Dok Elgon' and onion 'Mamoth Improved' into seed trays.

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...

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