What to do in September in the vegetable garden?
In September, while we are still enjoying this relatively mild weather which heralds the last days of the summer season, the time is ideal to begin preparations in your vegetable garden, in order to welcome the cold of December which is not very far away. This back-to-school month therefore marks a great transition: you will have to carry out meticulous work of maintenance and preparation, with at the same time the sowing to be carried out, the last harvests of the summer to be harvested.
Organize around a precise calendar: the key to success!
Successfully growing one vegetable or another in your vegetable garden is above all a question of good timing. You will have to work hard, but above all at the right time, for satisfactory results at harvest time. Tools like Permapotes can be very valuable in this regard to allow you to benefit from a personalized calendar taking into account the climate adapted for each type of vegetable you like. See instead!
Sowing to be done during the month of September
In September, the soil can be considered ideal in many respects: it regains relative humidity, while all the summer heat has not yet disappeared. You can still do many sowings.
Root vegetables : radish seedlings can still continue to be done. Prefer winter varieties, such as the “Chinese Winter Rose”. A little advice: remember to thin out your radish by removing the weakest seedling for each cluster of two seedlings. Then, cover the seedlings with good soil or compost, then ram it well with your rake. The soil must remain moist at all times while waiting for the seeds to germinate. Certain varieties of carrots, such as “half-long” or “Holland” can still be planted during this sweet month of transition. In addition, the period will be ideal for planting turnips, provided you like them!
Onions : the colored onions have already been planted during the previous months, but from August to the end of September, you can always continue to sow your white onions. They will last perfectly through the winter season in the vegetable garden, like Blanc de Rebouillon. If you have rich, well-irrigated, sunny soil, you have every chance of harvesting beautiful white onions. You will need to insert the seeds well, then take care to let the tips protrude. 5 to 10 cm of spacing is enough between the seeds, for 30 cm between the rows.
Salads and leafy vegetables: lamb's lettuce and all kinds of aromatic herbs, leeks, and parsley in pots are also great options to enhance your vegetable garden and prepare you for a great harvest. You can also sow spinach, like the winter giant, which tolerates the cold very well.
Planting to be done in September
Planting leafy vegetables for the winter season: the cabbageswhich come from the seedlings you made in August can be used during this month... provided that you live in a more temperate region. You will place them in the ground up to heart level, making sure to make light furrows 15 cm deep. Allow spaces of 15 cm between plants, with rows spaced 50 cm apart. The plants can be planted two weeks later, except for Chinese cabbages.
Seasonal salads such as butter lettuce can be planted with spacings of approximately 15 cm. Some varieties which grow more in volume will require 5 cm more. A little tip to give your plants a boost: use a winter veil to cover them when the temperatures cool down.
Mash can also be planted: allow 10 cm of space between the plants, and space the rows about 15 cm for good ventilation. For sorrel, you will need to allow 30 cm between the rows.
The leeks will need well-enriched soil, ideally with compost. As with onions, remember to choose a sunny location. The bulbs will be positioned with their tips upwards approximately 7 cm from each other. Remember to make mounds during cultivation for a good harvest.
You can also plant your strawberries in September, in soil enriched preferably with good compost. Also plant your artichokes 1 m apart around each plant.
Harvests in September
Late vegetables will yield a lot in September, but generally speaking, you will continue to harvest the summer vegetables which were already maturing the previous month: peppers, cucumbers, chili peppers, tomatoes, beans , eggplants or even zucchini will always be relevant.
In September, you can also pull your potatoes when the weather is still dry. The sweet corn will also be ready to be picked: you will know this by the brown color of the silk which abounds at the end of the cob. Leeks planted in the spring can also be harvested, while you can enjoy your first broccoli, cabbages and cauliflowers. Finally, the first squashes (butternut, honeynut, pumpkin, etc.) begin to mature. To know if they are ready, simply make sure their stems are dry and hardened.
In the orchard, it is also a good time to pick apples, pears and even grapes. Take advantage, this year’s harvest is particularly early! This is where my grapes are at the moment.
Work to prepare for the winter season is already beginning!
The maintenance tasks during this month can be relatively important: it is better to start now so as not to compromise all the efforts you have made in past months, and to get through the winter. You can thin out and transplant the seedlings made, and carry out careful weeding between your vegetables. In permaculture, bare land to be exploited can be covered with suitable mulch, this will prevent weeds from colonizing all cultivable surfaces! Don't hesitate to consider sowing green manures such as mustard, vetch and rye on your uncultivated areas.
During the month of September, you can blanch the vegetables that need to be blanched. This technique consists of depriving certain vegetables of light, which will have an effect on their taste and flavor, and will make them crunchier or more voluminous, for example. Well-made hillings can be used to deprive vegetables of light. To prepare the vegetable garden to withstand the passage of winter, you can also collect ferns and dead leaves to serve as a cover for the root vegetables which will have to spend the winter in the ground. This will help you when you need to pull them out at harvest time.
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