Notes from my November Garden

Well known in the vege patch “the hungry gap” is a time when everything is growing rapidly but there is nothing substantial to eat. We are trying to patiently wait for plants to produce enough so that we can start to tentatively take our first pickings. A similar dynamic is playing out in the rest of the garden. There is a gap between where the spring bulbs have mostly finished and other than the flowering trees like cornus and rhododendrons, there is not really many flowers available.

We are still waiting for that freefall tumble down into explosive growth and overflowing harvest baskets. But we move one step closer towards this point in mid November when the lupins, aquilegias, allliums and poppies all begin flower profusely and let us know that summer is just around the corner.

What I’m sowing at the moment:

Flowers: Sunflowers, nasturtium, cosmos, zinnia

Veges: Lettuce, spring onions, pak choi, basil, beans, dill, rocket, coriander, courgettes, cucumber

What I’m harvesting:

Shirley poppies, roses, geum, lupins, aquilegias, peonies, rainbow chard, lettuce, kale, pak choi, spring onions, parsley & coriander.

Spring Bulbs:

Most of the spring bulbs have came to an end now so I make a point of going around and taking off the spent flower heads. This not only makes the plants look better but allows them to put more energy back into the bulb rather than focusing on creating seeds. It is also very important to leave all leaves on until they have completely browned off, this is because through the process of photosynthesis the leaves provide all the nutrients for the bulbs to store for the season ahead.

Amazing Grey Poppy:

The first flower of the aptly named “Amazing Grey” poppy, they really are such a special flower. These plants were sown in early autumn and planted in the greenhouse, biding their time growing big healthy root systems over the winter. Then as the temperatures have risen and almost 7 months later they have exploded into growth and are covered in buds. I cannot wait to have a handful of flowers to photograph.

Pinching out:

There are several plants in the garden that I use a method called “pinching out” on. When the plants get to around 30 cm high I cut out the growing tip - right above a set of leaves and this creates bushier more abundant plants as they send out new stems below the cut. I do this to dahlias, cosmos, zinnias and branching sunflowers. Especially with dahlias you will notice that it also creates much longer stems.

Mulching:

If you haven’t already mulched over the winter now is a perfect time to put layers on top of the soil to protect it over the warmer months. Mulch does the most incredible job of retaining moisture in the soil, suppressing weeds and it slowly breaks down over time feeding the soil. Give the ground a good weed and then cover all the bare soil with a thick layer (2 - 7 cms) of decomposed woodchips, compost, broken down leaves or a even better a mix of all of the above. We have had a very wet spring so there is still plenty of soil moisture but if you are finding that your soil is dry then give it a good soak before you layer the mulch on top otherwise the mulch will create a barrier that the moisture cannot get through. Some people use and love straw (don’t use hay as it is full of seeds) but if you have issues with slugs or earwigs then this will just create an ideal habitat for them and exacerbate the issue.

After all the hard work that you have been doing at this busy time of year remember to take time to wander around and enjoy all the changes that are happening almost before your eyes.