Clearing Spent Crops and Tidying the Plot

By the first week of October the summer glut is behind us and much of the plot looks tired. Runner and French beans have finished, courgettes are mildewed and sprawling, and the last cucumbers have gone hollow. Start by pulling these up and chopping the healthy haulms into the compost heap, layering them with crumpled cardboard or straw to keep the balance right. Anything diseased — blighted tomato foliage, brassica stalks with clubroot, mouldy fruit — should go in the council green bin or on a bonfire, never on the heap. Sweetcorn stalks and sunflower stems are woody, so run the loppers over them before they go in. As beds empty, give them a quick fork over to remove weed roots and stones, and let the birds tidy up the slugs and leatherjackets you turn up.

Sowing Green Manure on Bare Ground

Bare soil over winter is a waste. Rain leaches nutrients away and annual weeds colonise the gaps by February. Green manures are the cheap, satisfying answer, and there is a choice to suit every plot:

• Field beans and winter tares — legumes that fix nitrogen from the air into nodules on their roots, ideal before next year's brassicas or potatoes.
• Hungarian grazing rye — a sturdy grass whose deep roots break up heavy clay and whose bulk adds valuable organic matter when dug in.
• Phacelia — the prettiest option, with soft blue flowers, and it conveniently dies back in frost, leaving a mulch behind.
• Mustard — quick and cheap, but avoid it where brassicas are going next, as it shares their clubroot troubles.

Sow by mid-September where you can, or early October at a push, broadcasting thinly and raking in. Chop it all down in early spring before it sets seed, then either dig it in or leave it on the surface as a mulch.

Mulching and Feeding Empty Beds

Once a bed is cleared, a thick mulch will protect the soil structure through the worst of the weather. Well-rotted horse manure, garden compost or leaf mould spread five to eight centimetres deep keeps the worms working and stops winter rain panicking the surface. On heavy clay it is especially valuable, but do keep mulch clear of the crowns of any overwintering plants, or you will invite rot. It is also leaf mould season: gather fallen leaves from paths and lawns, stuff them into old compost bags with a few holes punched in, and stack them behind the shed. Oak, beech and hornbeam take two years to rot down; sycamore and horse chestnut are quicker. Either way, you will have a lovely crumbly conditioner for the bean trench next autumn.

Harvesting Late Roots and Standing Crops

Parsnips are the stars of the late beds. Leave them in the ground until after the first proper frost, which converts their starch to sugar, and they will taste immeasurably sweeter for it. Leeks, kale, Brussels sprouts, purple sprouting broccoli and winter cabbage can all stand where they are, cropping through until March. Carrots, beetroot and celeriac are less tolerant: on heavy, wet soil lift them before the hard frosts arrive and store them in boxes of barely damp sand or spent compost in a cool, dark shed. Check stored roots every few weeks and remove any that are rotting. Jerusalem artichokes can stay put and be dug as needed, though be warned — they will spread if you leave even the smallest tuber behind.

Protecting Tender Plants from Early Frost

First frosts arrive earlier than most of us expect: late October in the north, mid-November in the south, sometimes with a surprise in September. Keep a roll of horticultural fleece in the shed and drape it over late courgettes, chard, salad leaves and the last tomatoes. Cloches will do for smaller plants, and anything in pots should be brought under cover or moved against a south-facing wall. Crowns of globe artichokes and rhubarb appreciate a loose heap of straw, and strawberries benefit from a similar dressing. Once dahlia foliage blackens, cut the stems to about 15cm and lift the tubers to dry before storing them in dry compost somewhere frost-free. Check greenhouse vents and insulation now rather than on the first freezing night.

Sowing Ahead for Next Year

There is still plenty to put in. Broad beans such as Aquadulce Claudia sown in October or November will overwinter as sturdy little plants and give you the earliest pods of the lot, usually well ahead of spring sowings — though on cold, exposed plots it may be safer to wait until February. Garlic loves a cold start; plant cloves pointed end up, about 15cm apart. Japanese onion sets planted now will stand through winter and bulk up in May. And when the weather finally drives you indoors, use the time to clean, sharpen and oil your tools, order next year's seed, and sketch out a rotation plan on the back of an envelope.