[plumseverywhere]

THis is my first real autumn of having our own veggie garden (and I love it!!) just wondering what 'jobs' I'm meant to be doing now? I have a pile of 1 year rotted chicken manure and 5 month rotted goat manure - can I use that anywhere?
also, what do you do with old tomato plants once the fruit are all off? can I compost it or are they poison ous?

last year I planted garlic and onions around now so assume I should be doing similar now but different area of patch.  we have a couple of amazing pumpkins growing and a lovely cauliflower still also some pattypan squash - ooh its so exciting!!

[Anke]

If your toms did NOT have blight they are ok on the compost. Not sure of your manure is ready yet, I keep mine usually for a year before putting back into soil.

[Fleecewife]

And the excitement doesn't really wear off 

If your tomatoes were diseased, burn them, if not, compost them.

If you spread manure and compost now on anything other than very heavy clay, it will wash away in the heavy rains of winter.  So you have a choice - either spread/dig in now and cover with polythene well held down with bricks, tyres, straw bales or lengths of timber, or leave it until early spring before incorporating your manure. If you can cover it, then digging it in now means that the worms will have had the chance to work away under the protection of the polythene and will have incorporated the manure and turned it into a more easily used form by the time the veggies need it
You could prepare your bean trench now if you are raring to go, so it's all ready for the spring, but I don't usually bother.

It will soon be time to plant out garlic and overwintering (japanese) onions - I do mine next month.

[Cinderhills]

Plums - sounds like the girls pumpkins are doing well.

[plumseverywhere]

well they are huge!! but still green    starting to worry they might be marrows (!)  explain that one to them on halloween! that'll teach me to label everything next year, ahem.

[Anke]

Well at least their pumpkins will be different from the all the others! (and probably the only homegrown ones?)

[ellied]

Thanks for that, I was wondering if there was anything I could be planting now to overwinter as I come to the end of some of the crops and have 2 beds free so far (green beans still in half of the third and the curly kale and PSB in the 4th)..

I am waiting for someone to come and dig out my barn of the deep litter horse manure from last winter, some of which I plan to put on the empty beds and plastic over, and the rest on the muckheap in the paddock, so will just wait for that instead then and maybe put in a few onions and shallots in the half bed..

[langdon]

hi plumseverywhere hope all is well with you guys
at the mo ive just started digging over the beds before winter comes in.
if you can get the digging started before the hard frost sets in, it can break up the soil even more leaving you with less effort
its not much but every little bit helps.
ive started now cos as you know with animals to look after you gota get a head start
langdon

[egglady]

I've just planted my garlic and  once I'm organised and get to the GC, I'll be planting my overwintered onion sets.  I dont bother with broad beans as they catch up quickly enough in the spring.  Like everyone else, with animals, i dont have much time for the garden so i try to get things dug over just now and then just leave it till spring.

[shrekfeet]

If you plant your BBeans and peas now you will have a crop a month earlier. Plant garlic - needs a frost. Winter Density lettuce, get some leaf beet in - invaluable and what you don't eat throw to the chicks - it's cut and come again. Get you onion sets in too

[northfifeduckling]

garlic needs frost??? how comes you can also plant it in spring? 

[Fleecewife]

You can plant it in spring but you will get bigger cloves if it has the whole of winter to grow a big root system.  Last winter, green garlic spears were the first things to emerge when our giant snow drifts eventually melted from the veggie patch.

[suziequeue]

Did you have them under weed suppressing fabric like the onions fleecewife?

[Fleecewife]

No, they were the ones I had missed picking the previous year, which popped up again of their own accord.  But when I do plant them out officially, it is now through weed suppressing fabric.  Some weeds do grow, but usually spindly thistles which are easy to pull up, although I hold onto the bulbs with one hand while I pull them out.
I am not sure how long the fabric will last.  I tried to make the holes at a distance apart which would suit various plants, not just the crop this year, but there are some tears already.  It is expensive if it's only going to last a year.

[ellied]

Garlic, onion sets, some peas and leaf beet - check!  Thanks, am onto it this week as I have to go to the GC anyway.  Think I might have perpetual spinach left from this year so might as well chuck it in before it gets past it actually 

Not been on here long but am already hoping for great improvements in my gardening results next season thanks guys