September is the gentle handover. The days are still warm, but the nights are turning cool and the dew lingers longer each morning. For the garden that means two things at once: bringing in everything the summer built up, and laying the groundwork for next spring's show of colour. No other month looks back and ahead in quite the same breath.
September runs roughly from CW 36 to 40.
Harvest fruit and store it right
Most apple and pear varieties are ripe now, along with plums, grapes and quinces. To tell whether an apple is ready to pick, try the tilt test: lift the fruit gently and give it a twist. If it comes away easily, stalk and all, it's ready.
Harvest squash when it sounds hollow
Squash is the very picture of autumn. It's ripe when the stalk has gone corky and dry and the fruit sounds hollow when you knock on it.
Harvest before the first frost, because frost-touched squash rots in storage. Cut it off with a piece of stalk still attached, which acts as a natural seal. Then let it cure for a week or two in a warm, airy spot. That toughens up the skin, and the squash will keep all winter.
September harvests with one hand and plants with the other. That's exactly what makes it the hinge of the gardening year.
Plant bulbs for spring
If you want colour in March, get ahead now. Tulips, daffodils and crocuses go into the ground in September and October, while the soil is still warm enough for them to root.
The rule of thumb for planting depth: about two to three times as deep as the bulb is tall. Set in loose clusters, they look more natural than in neat rows. Now's also the time to plant next year's garlic.
The last sowing and a green manure
Any bed that comes free now doesn't sit idle. Lamb's lettuce and winter spinach get their last good sowing window in early September, and there's still time for quick radishes and rocket. Wherever you won't be growing anything until spring, a green manure earns its keep.
The lawn gets a second chance
September is the best month to lay a new lawn or oversow the bare patches. The soil is warm, the nights are damp, and the grass still roots in well before winter. An autumn feed high in potassium makes the blades frost-hardy and carries them strongly through the cold season.
Your September in brief
- Harvest fruitPick apples and pears by the tilt test, and store only the flawless fruit.
- Bring in squashHarvest before frost, with a bit of stalk, then let it cure.
- Plant bulbsPlant tulips, daffodils and crocuses for spring flowers.
- Last sowingSow lamb's lettuce and winter spinach, and green manure on the empty beds.
- Put into storageStow root vegetables and keeping apples somewhere cool, dark and airy.
- Renew the lawnLay fresh or oversow, and feed with a potassium-rich autumn fertiliser.
Häufige Fragen
How do I know an apple is ready to pick?
By the tilt test: lift the apple and turn it gently to one side. If it comes away with its stalk and no tearing, it's ripe. And if plenty of healthy fruit is already dropping on its own, it's high time anyway.
Can I still harvest squash after the first frost?
Better not. Frost turns the flesh mushy and makes squash go off quickly in storage. Harvest it in good time beforehand and let it cure somewhere warm, and it'll keep through winter.
Is a green manure worth it in a small garden?
Yes, especially there. It protects the soil over winter, holds down weeds and improves the structure, with no work beyond the sowing. Come spring you've got a loose, well-nourished bed instead of a hard, silted-up surface.
Your September at a glance
September rewards both: the bringing in and the thinking ahead. Get your harvest into storage dry and clean, set a handful of bulbs for spring, and don't let a single bed go bare into winter. What you do now will flower and grow next year.
In Gartenkern you note down what you've stored and where you tucked in which bulbs. Come next March you'll know exactly which corner your daffodil 'Tête-à-Tête' is coming up in, and how long your keeping apples lasted. That's how the circle closes, a little rounder year after year.
