What to do now

These friendly, bite-size podcasts offer advice on what you can be doing in the garden throughout the autumn and winter. From enjoying the harvest in September, to lawn care, mulching, and dividing plants throughout October and November, you'll also find inspiration for sowing spring bulbs and autumn crops, planting bare-root trees, shrubs and hedging, how to gather nature for Christmas decorations, and more.

Episode 10 - Mulch, with Oliver Parsons

Now is a great time to mulch. It's a chance to get out in the garden and do something practical when everything seems to be on the wane and dying down

Episode 10 - Plant tulip bulbs, with Adam Duxbury

Is there anything more cheerful than coming home on a cold spring day and being greeted by a pot full of colourful tulips? November is the ideal time to get tulips in the ground or in your pots.

Episode 9 - Protect tender plants, with Oliver Parsons

Frost can be devastating, but what’s less often talked about is the combination of cold and wet, so let’s look at some ways to give your tender plants the best chance of surviving until spring.

Episode 8 - Greenhouse and pots tidy, with Claire Vennis

A good job to do this time of year is to give your gardening pots, and greenhouse too if you have one, a thorough deep clean. It’s a job that’s easily neglected, but if you take the time now in autumn, you’ll reap the benefits when the growing season starts again.

Episode 7 - Sow autumn broad beans, with Oliver Parsons

Sowing next year’s broad beans is a great way to deal with the sad fact that summer is over, and enables the plants to get off to a much better start when they’re sown now, rather than in spring.

Episode 6 - Divide perennials and move plants, with Oliver Parsons

A satisfyingly physical job, dividing perennials is just about the easiest way of making new plants. It's also a brilliant opportunity to move plants or, even better, spread them around your garden for free.

Episode 5 - Plant autumn onion sets and garlic, with Claire Vennis

Planting onion sets and garlic cloves in autumn is a great way to get a head start on next year’s harvest. By planting now, the bulbs will establish earlier than spring planted crops, and garlic benefits from colder temperatures so they can burst into growth in spring.

Episode 4 - Autumn lawn care, with Catherine Mansley

It’s a good idea to give your lawn a bit of attention now and a few simple actions in autumn will ensure your lawn survives winter in good shape and is healthy and raring to grow next spring.

Episode 3 - Enjoy the harvest, with Kevin Smith

September is a wonderful month to enjoy your homegrown vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers, whether from your garden, vegetable plot or allotment. There’s something special about picking, preparing and eating produce you’ve grown and nurtured over the summer months, plus, home-grown tastes so much better.

Episode 2 - Plant Spring-flowering bulbs, with Oliver Parsons

Although spring feels a long way away as we head into autumn and winter, by planting spring flowering bulbs now, you’ll bring a lovely pop of colour and scent to your garden in the early months of next year, as well as provide a source of much-needed nectar and pollen for pollinators too.

Episode 1 - Sow winter greens, with Claire Vennis

To keep your vegetable plot productive in the colder months - and if you’re keen to extend the sowing and growing season – why not grow winter greens for a supply of fresh and nutritious food.