Gardening Month by Month – November

As most of us know the garden is a quiet space in November. However, several flowers can be grown and harvested which will save you some time during the Spring planting season!

• Try sowing the hardy perennial Eryngiums, (sea holly) these perennials grow especially well if you live near the coast. Loved by bees, they need a period of cold to germinate. Sow in trays or pots and place in an unheated greenhouse.
• Sweet Peas is another possibility. These beautiful flowers can be sown in the autumn or spring so it’s certainly not too late to sow them now. Again place the seeds into pots of compost and overwinter them in an unheated mini-greenhouse or cold frame if you don’t have a larger greenhouse to place them in.
• Gather up all the fallen leaves of your roses and dispose of them. This will prevent them from carrying the blackspot disease over to the following season.
• November is a time to get those potted herbs indoors, such as parsley, mint, rosemary and chives. You can then continue cropping them into winter!
• Ensure you empty all old pots and trays. They should be washed out thoroughly to make sure they are clean for the next season. Place them under the greenhouse staging or a safe clean place ready for the Spring.
• If you haven’t started with the greenhouse clean yet, then let’s get started by scrubbing down the greenhouse staging, glazing and framework with disinfectant to kill any mould or bacteria that might be lurking.
• November is the month to save money. Take the opportunity to order and plant bare-root fruit trees, hedging, shrubs and roses, as they are only available in the dormant season. Try and plant them as soon as they arrive.
• Scarify any lawns you have.
• The easiest and most economical way to get new plants is by taking cuttings from roses, or other deciduous shrubs. You can do it in November.
• Plant tulips, it’s a good time to plant these much-loved plants as they enjoy the cool, moist conditions that are associated with this time of year.
• If you have a greenhouse try and retain the warmth in your greenhouse by closing any ‘vents’ early in the afternoon, why not ‘insulate’ the greenhouse with special thick bubble wrap, a great idea to keep the warmth in the greenhouse during the winter months.
• To ensure successful planting, plant spring-flowering bulbs as early in the month as possible and make sure they’re at their correct depth so their roots will have enough time to grow before winter chills set in.
• To keep your cyclamen plant looking its best, you’ll want to remove any yellowed leaves from the corm. If they have faded flowers on them as well then be sure and snip those too! Keep in a cool and bright place.
• Plant bulbs like crocus, and daffodils in special bulb baskets to make lifting them after flowering easier.

• Sow broad beans in deep module trays in a greenhouse until late November or early December, then place the plants in the garden in December. Doing it this way should ensure that seedlings are about 5cm high by the new year. Sowing your seeds in autumn, rather than early in the new year means you will get an earlier crop.
• If you want to plant something this month then plant bare-root fruit trees, cane and or soft fruits. Just be careful the ground is not too wet.
• Keep away those pests during the winter, by placing glue bands around the trunks of your fruit trees. 
• Take hardwood cuttings this month from your healthy fruit bushes.
• All dormant fruit bushes should be pruned once the weather is favourable. This includes blackcurrants, gooseberries, and redcurrants.
• Time to remove those old tomato and cucumber plants from the greenhouse, then add them to your compost pile.
• Now is a good time to plant garlic, onions and or shallots. Plant in free-draining soil or raised beds. Then cover the tops with a garden fleece to keep them warm during cold weather!
• You can grow winter lettuce in pots, borders or a greenhouse to maintain an uninterrupted supply during the cold months. One favourite for many gardeners is ‘Vailan Winter Gem‘ which crops from November through to May.
• It’s time to gather up those ripe apples (depending on your variety). Pick the ripest you can find and either eat them or store them in a cool, dry place for later in the year!
• Apply a good layer of compost/manure to bare areas. This will help nourish the soil, improve the soil structure and fertility as well as protect it from weed growth!
• Prune apple and pear trees. Remove dead or weak growth and any crossing branches

   

• To prevent damage from below-freezing temperatures, you should remove your pond pumps and fountains when the temperature drops below freezing.
• Clear all the leaves that may have ‘fallen’ into your pond, cut back and dead pond plants and shallow marsh plants.
• If you can, cover the pond with a cover net.
• Stop feeding your fish this month. At lower temperatures, the metabolism of (cold-blooded) fish is so slow, that they hardly need any feed.
• If you use barley straw bags in your pond to combat blanket weed, remove them this month. Let them dry out a bit and then throw them on the compost heap.
• Autumn is a great time to clean your pond. It’s recommended that you clean small ponds every 4-5 years, while larger ponds can go 10 years between cleanings! You don’t need a complete cleaning either – just leave some silt at the bottom so eggs and larvae have somewhere safe over winter.
  I recommend leaving any untreated wildlife habitat this way too: it’ll protect their homes from predators during harsh weather conditions.
• November is the best time for ‘winter pond’ preparation. Winter pond preparation largely depends on what kind of pond you have though. So ensure all necessary preparations should be carried out this month before the major frosts arrive.

• Protect your outdoor taps and pipes from the harsh winter weather, wrap insulating foam or similar protection around them.
• Turn your compost heap before ensuring your compost bins are undercover over the winter.
• November is a good time to ‘plan’ for next year’s garden and or allotment. There are some good free garden design apps to help you do this. In addition, think about what you need to do and order in terms of plants and seeds.
• The cold winter months are coming, so make sure you have enough food and shelter for garden wildlife like birds and hedgehogs. Make their lives a little easier by providing extra sources of both if possible!
• If the grass still has some life left in it, don’t hesitate to get out your mower and continue cutting. However, make sure you raise the blade height.
• With the temperature dropping, water houseplants less frequently from this month.
• If you can’t take your garden furniture inside over winter, put waterproof covers over them.
• With a lot of tidying up in the garden, things get quite busy. Make sure you sharpen your secateurs to make life easier.
• If you have a few dry days go ahead and oil the ‘patio decking’ or other garden woodwork or even paint the garden shed. We recommend that you do this every year. This will ensure the longevity of your deck/shed and prevent rot from setting in.