By October the weather is cooling down quickly and the days are getting much shorter. It is time to move from the growing season of one year to preparation for the next year.
Pull up crops that have finished harvesting and put on the compost heap.
Start collecting autumn leaves to make leaf mould. Leaf mould is a great soil improver, and all you need to do is either put it in a big heap somewhere in the garden out of the way and cover with black plastic or old carpet to stop the leaves blowing away. In about a year the worms will have done their work and you’ll have lovely crumbling leaf mould to add to your growing beds. You can also stuff black bin bags with the leaves, puncture a few holes in the bags and leave them somewhere to rot down.
