1 Sep

What To Sow And Grow In September
September might be peak harvest time, but there’s still plenty to sow and grow this month.
Here's a handy list of what to plant in September, along with the flowers, fruits and vegetables you can grow this month:
Flowers To Sow And Grow
In The Greenhouse/Indoors
- Surface-sow euphorbia seeds now in trays indoors.
- Sow dierama seed now on the surface of moist compost. Keep in a cool greenhouse over winter.
In The Cold Frame / Under Cloches
- Sow calendula seeds in pots now and keep in a cold frame, for fruity colour from early summer next year.
- Sow violas in a cold frame to plant out in the spring.
- Sow lupins, aquilegia, aconitum and hollyhocks in a cold frame now.
- Sow eryngium and echinops in pots and place in a cold frame this month to enjoy their silvery spiky foliage next year.
- Start verbascum seeds off outdoors now in pots in a cold frame.
- Sow perennial salvias into pots and trays outdoors and leave in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse through the winter.
- Sow red hot pokers into pots and trays outdoors for stunning flowers next summer.
- Sow helenium in a cold frame to attract bees and butterflies into your garden next year.
Direct Sow Outdoors
- Sow Ammi Majous (Bishop's Weed) directly in the ground now where you'd like it to flower. Autumn sowing will produce bigger, more robust plants to grow.
- Sow hardy geraniums outdoors and leave them to over-winter.
- Direct sow hardy annuals, such as cornflowers, poached egg plant, annual poppies and larkspur, for bigger plants next year.
- Sprinkle California poppies into your borders for stunning colour late next spring.
- Direct sow Love-in-a-Mist (nigella) - it will over-winter quite happily and will self-seed prolifically!
- Sow delphiniums this month for flowers next summer.
Plant Outdoors
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- Fill gaps in your borders with autumn-flowering plants, such as sedum and chrysanthemum, to extend the colour to the end of the season.
- Plant hyacinth and amaryllis bulbs for forcing, to ensure a crowd of colourful blooms at Christmas. Keep them in a dark, cool place like a shed or garage and bring them indoors when the shoots are 5cm tall. Perfect for a homemade Christmas present!
- Plant spring-flowering bulbs, such as daffodils, crocus and hyacinths.
- Plant out any biennial plants sown earlier in the year. This includes foxgloves, wallflowers and violas.
- Plant new perennials, trees and shrubs. Now is a good time as the soil is still warm and increasing rainfall should be on its way.
Vegetables And Herbs To Sow And Grow
In The Cold Frame/ Greenhouse/ Under Cloches
- Direct sow spinach now and offer cloche protection as the weather cools. This will ensure harvests throughout autumn and winter.
- Sow spring cabbages, such as 'April' and 'Durham Early' into modules in the greenhouse.
- Sow pak choi under cloches now for an autumn supply of baby salad leaves.
Direct Sow Outdoors
- Sow corn salad (lamb's lettuce) now - it’s a fully hardy crop which can be sown outdoors now for cropping throughout the autumn and winter.
- Sow 'green manures' on empty beds now to help improve your soil structure and prevent weeds establishing over winter.
- Sow 'Hi Keeper' onions into a well-prepared seedbed - these are the best variety of onion for autumn sowing. Only thin your onion seedlings in the spring.
- Direct sow salad leaves now.
- Try sowing the very hardy 'Perpetual' spinach outdoors this month for winter harvests later in the year.
- Sow winter-hardy spring onions, such as 'White Lisbon' and 'Performer' for crops next spring.
- Make your last direct sowings of summer radishes this month - the cooler autumn conditions are ideal.
- Sow turnip seeds into well-prepared beds this September, for small roots.
- Sow winter lettuce, such as 'Arctic King', directly into the ground now.
Plant Outdoors
- Start planting garlic bulbs at the end of the month for cropping next year.
- Plant autumn onion sets this month.
- Plant out any spring cabbages sown during the summer.
Keep One Step Ahead – What To Order This Month
- Order sweet pea seeds to start in cold frames in October.
- Buy in autumn onion sets for an early summer harvest next year.
- Order rhubarb crowns and asparagus crowns to plant next month.