Many people think there aren’t any vital gardening jobs to get on with in autumn, but they couldn’t be more wrong.
In fact, there’s one important job that has to be done this month to ensure your lawn comes back healthier than ever next spring.
Mary Hunt, a money-saving expert and founder of Everyday Cheapskate, has shared a simple way to get a healthier lawn without breaking the bank.
The avid gardnener said: “I love a beautiful yard, but I hate spending a lot of money to get it that way, which explains why I am always looking for cheap do-it-yourself ways to kill weeds, grow flowers, and feed lawns.”
While it is important to fertiliser your lawn for a last time before winter strikes, she revealed the one product you have to add to make your lawn as healthy as possible.
She revealed Epson salt, a natural mineral which builds up proteins in plants and also encourages strong root development was vital to add to your lawn.
Epsom salt is typically used as a bath soak as it contains a lot of nutrient magnesium, which can help soothe muscles but it’s also crucial for plants to absorb sunlight and produce energy.
By sprinkling Epsom salt into your lawn fertiliser in October, it will help grass continue photosynthesis more efficiently so it can absorb more nutrients before it goes dormant in winter.
This encourages roots to grow stronger and make the grass more resistant to recover quickly from winter – and can be bought for just £1 in Poundland.
This will allow your grass to be a deep green colour by the time spring comes back around.
Mary added: “You’ll have the wonderful deep-green colour, better root structure, and you won’t have to mow as often.”
All you have to do is mix the Epsom Salt with fertiliser and spread it across your lawn.
Mary explained: “Mix four pounds of magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) in a giant bin or bucket with a bag of your favourite lawn food that covers 2,500 sq. ft. Now feed your lawn the same amount of this mixture as recommended on the lawn food bag.
“You’ll save a lot of money because you’ll be using only half the normal amount of fertiliser. Plus, this formulation cuts down on the nitrogen which makes your lawn grow so fast.”
The best time to fertilise your lawn is a few weeks is between late September and mid-October depending on where you live in the UK.
Gardening expert Emily Green, an expert at Howarth Timber, has revealed that the important job that she advised gardening enthusiasts to do this month is weeding.
The Sun’s Gardening Editor, Veronica Lorraine, has shared the jobs you need to tackle in October.
“It’s a good time to trim deciduous hedges – like box, yew, hawthorn, hornbean and beech – plus hedge trimmers are a great upper body workout!
Make leafmould – gather up all the fallen leaves and fill either bin bags or plastic carrier bags. Seal the top, stick a few small holes in the bag – and then store for a year or more. Free compost!
It’s unlikely you’ll get any more red tomatoes so have one final harvest and chuck the plants on the compost. See if you can get the green ones to ripen by putting in a drawer (some say with a banana). Also keep the seeds from a couple – and plant again next year if they went well.
Finish getting in your spring bulbs. Ideally you’d have done daffs and alliums, but tulips are better in the ground when the soil temperature gets a bit colder.
It’s good to leave some plant litter in the ground – it adds to the nutrients as it rots down, and provides shelter and food for insects. But remove the manky brown bits collapsing all over the lawn/winter structure.
Mulch – it not only suppresses weeds, but keeps the soil warm, improves water retention and adds a little winter duvet to your outside space.
October’s a good month for carrots, peas, asparagus, broad beans, and rhubarb.”
It turns out that autumn is the best time to weed your garden in order to stop them becoming a huge problem next spring.
Emily claimed that weeds should be removed from the root, as she said: “As we all know, weeds may become an issue if allowed to grow wild, and if they aren’t managed early in the winter, they will become a greater problem in the spring.
“Weeds should be removed from the root, especially if they have grown through pavement joints or along garden edging.
“You might have to use a weed-killer, so try to choose one that is less harmful to the environment, and keep in mind that spraying close to your garden border may affect the development of surrounding plants.”
