I’m a gardener – the September jobs you must do now, follow my tips to protect your plants from slugs
A GARDENER has revealed five vegetables you should plant this September, and some top tips for stopping slugs attacking your plants.
Louise Dickinson, 28, said that despite colder weather being on the horizon, there are plenty of plants that you can sow now, either for a quick harvest before the cold weather sets in or for the first harvest of spring.
Spring Onions
Spring onions are very hardy, according to Louise, from Hertfordshire, so are great to grow through the winter.
“If you just harvest the leaves and don’t pull the whole plant up, you can treat it like a perennial”, she said in a video posted to both her TikTok channel (@gardeningwithlou) and Instagram page (louiseskitchengarden1).
Louise, who is a cake maker by trade, but who is also a gardening fanatic, said that she sows three spring onion seeds per module tray.
“Spring onions don’t really mind being bunched together, and you can use the thin ones in salads”, she said.
Pack Choi
Louise said that pak choi has “great germination rates”, so recommended only planting one seed per module.
“They grow extremely quickly and they bolt easily in hot weather, so I like to hide them in between carrots so that the leaves shade them”, she said.
However, Louise added that slugs and snails absolutely love pak choi, so urged gardening fans to make sure to protect them.
Demonstrating how she protects her own plants, Louise spread a layer of bark on the soil around the pak choi, to act as a barrier.
Broccoli
Louise advised budding gardeners to make sure to check that the variety of broccoli they have purchased is suitable for growing in winter.
She added that she covers her seedlings with a layer of cling flim, which acts as a “mini greenhouse.”
“Nothing is better than a spring harvest of broccoli”, she said.
Lettuce
Louise said that lettuces can be down right through the autumn and winter.
“Last year I was harvesting lettuces in December whilst there was snow on the ground”, she said.
The gardening whizz explained that if you sow lettuces in modules they will have enough leaves and be big enough to survive slug attacks.
Cheap gardening tips
- Keep weeds away with straw
According to horticulturists and plant professionals, all-natural straw is one of the most effective tools to bring into your garden.
You don’t need to buy a whole bale – you can typically buy smaller bundles at your local farm store for upwards of £1.50.
Some stores even sell pre-portioned bags made for gardens, which can cost closer to £10 but can be found on the shelves or online. - Call your local garden centre
If you are unsure of how to care for your plants, hop on the phone or online and get in touch with your local garden center, rather than resorting to the internet.
Nursery employees will have an up-to-the-minute understanding of your area’s conditions, and any plant care tips that are unique to your climate and soil.
Calling them with a question or stopping in is totally fine – they want your plants to thrive, too. - Wood to keep slugs out
Use a piece of wood to keep the slugs out of your garden.
Experts say that they’ll crawl under it for shade.
Then you can gather them up and get rid of them. - Save your toilet paper tubes.
You can use paper towel tubes and toilet paper tubes in your garden, according to a tip from Family Handyman.
Save the tubes and cut them into two-inch lengths before placing them in a waterproof tray.
Then simply fill the tubes with potting soil and start planting your seeds.
According to the site, when you’re ready to move them into the garden, they can be planted right in the tubes and, because it’s cardboard, they’ll decompose organically.
She added that you can also protect your plants from cats and foxes, by placing chicken wire over them.
Kale
The final plant which Louise recommended planting this month is kale.
She said that there are hundreds of different varieties, so you should be sure to choose one which grows through winter.
“It’s an extremely hardy vegetable”, she said.
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