November Hints & Tips

November is the month to ensure you’ve got a sharp pair of secateurs – it is the time for pruning fruit trees and bushes before the weather turns very cold. The exception to this is stoned fruit trees such as cherry and plums, which are pruned in mid-summer.

It’s also the best time of the year to plant new, bear root fruit bushes and trees. The soil will still be warm, and if you prepare the planting holes by adding a generous helping of compost or manure, the roots will be able to establish themselves before winter really sets in. If you miss this month, you may have to wait until next March.

Before the soil becomes too cold or waterlogged, November is also a good time to prepare the ground for next year’s growing season. Clear away old plants, remove any surviving weeds, turn over the soil and dig in your soil improver - be it well rotted manure or compost. Or if you are following ‘no dig’ practices, add 1-2 inches of compost or manure to the surface of your beds and let the worms do the rest.

Once the ground has been prepared you can either leave beds to be exposed to frosts, which can help kill pests and breakdown clay soils, or you cover up with black polythene, cardboard or a proprietary weed suppressant. You are not allowed to cover the ground with carpet in order to suppress the weeds at any time of the year.

You may know the rules in respect to cultivation but just to remind those that have just joined us here’s what the Bye-law 3.1 says:

“The Tenant’s plot requires a minimum of two thirds in active cultivation and fertility…. A greenhouse or poly tunnel is included in the two-thirds calculation. Lawns are not considered to be part of the two-thirds cultivation”

At this time of year, plot cultivation is about maintenance and soil improvement.

Nets can be removed from fruit cages but keep them over Brussels sprout, cabbages and other brassicas.

Seeds to sow Broad Beans

Vegetables to Plant Garlic, Rhubarb

Fruit to plant Apples, cherries, Pears, Apricots, Peaches, Nectarines, Blackberries, Black Currents, Blueberries, Cranberries, Figs, Gooseberries, Grape Vines, Raspberries, Redcurrants, White currants