What to do in your no dig garden in October

We are in the second spring!

There are lots of things to do in the No Dig Garden in October. First and perhaps most importantly is to continue to harvest the last of the summer veg, the tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines are all at an end and really unlikely to ripen after the middle of the month.

If you have them in a greenhouse outside or in a poly tunnel, then harvest all that are left and put the green ones somewhere warm with a banana skin - they may go red, or you can make green tomato chutney instead!

Harvest the rest of the cucumbers and aubergines and evict the plants from the greenhouse. I do leave my chilli plants in to hope that more will ripen later in the year but it rarely works!!

If you did not spread the compost on the beds in the spring then now is the time to do that. Spread about 25mm of compost on top of the compost and that will be all you need to do for winter and next summer on the beds in the greenhouse.

You can then plant out winter salads and leaves to take you through the winter. Things that will grow include herbs such as parsley, chard, kale and spinach and you could even try sowing some early carrots under cover for a super early crop in the spring.

For outside, if you haven’t done it in September now is the time to sow spring onions and plant out onion sets and garlic for over wintering. If you want, you can get plants online, local garden centres or see what' in our store! Plant out spring cabbages and cauliflowers that can also be planted in your no dig beds. You may want to protect small plants from birds and slugs as they will grow slowly but in spring they will put a spurt on before the spring sown are ready to harvest.

You can also sow broad beans but keep them covered to prevent mice eating them all before they germinate. I use some old net and tuck it over the seeds when sown to stop pilfering by the mice and birds.

If you have pots of herbs, it is a good idea to put them somewhere sheltered, so they do not get too wet. Protect any tender plants and get them somewhere frost free.

Gather in compost from wherever you can get it and finish off some of your compost heaps ready for the big winter spread of compost on the beds that become empty.

It is not too late to if you want to sow green manure such as mustard to keep the newly composted beds protected over the winter months.

More on spreading compost next month - it is a busy time in the garden now with so much to do.

Good luck!