Jobs to do this September

1. Ripening tomatoes

   Help those green tomatoes turn red before the weather turns cold. Hang a couple of bananas by the plants. The bananas will give off a gas which will encourage the tomatoes to ripen faster.

2. Houseplants

   Bring indoors any houseplants that have been in the garden during the summer. Check for pests and spray if necessary. Also look at the bottom of the pot, that’s where slugs or snails hide.

3. Lawns

   Give your lawn a big late season boost by feeding with it with Lawn Magic. The feed will turn it a glorious green and help it look better next year.

4. Moving shrubs

   Got a shrub growing in the wrong spot? It’s the best time of year to move it. Re-plant with plenty of compost or well rotted manure and keep well watered.

5. Preserve some herbs

   Preserve some herbs to use in winter. Chop them finely, add to ice cube trays, pour in a little water and put in the freezer. When needed, just pop the cubes into stews or sauces to give them a really fresh herb flavour.

6. Dig up summer bedding

   As the summer bedding plants fade, dig them out and fill the gaps with pansies and polyanthus. The sooner these are planted, the better the display next spring.

7. Trimming hedges & evergreens

   Privet and lonicera hedges need a final trim of the year to get them tidy for winter. It’s also the last opportunity to cut evergreen hedges like leylands, yew and laurel.