Select Language

English

Down Icon

Select Country

Netherlands

Down Icon

These are 11 things you do in the garden at the end of September

These are 11 things you do in the garden at the end of September

It's autumn! And that means we can garden in abundance. There are plenty of fun gardening chores waiting for the end of September, like harvesting, planting, and pruning. Discover everything you can do in the garden in week #39 of September in this checklist.

Read more below the advertisement

Wondering which plants and flowers you can sow right now? Which vegetable garden chores you absolutely can't put off any longer? And when's the right time to prune that particular tree or shrub? The Gardeners' World editors are happy to help with practical gardening tips. Below, you'll find the best gardening tasks for week #39 in September.

Someone is sowing some grass seed on a bare spot in the green lawn.
Photo: Sarah Cuttle.

Fix unsightly patches in your lawn by reseeding them with grass seed . Before sowing, rake the soil slightly. Make sure the patch is level and at the same height as the rest of the grass. Spread the seed evenly over the area, rake gently again, and water lightly in dry weather. At this time of year, grass seed will germinate within 10 days.

Want tips like this in your inbox every week? Sign up for our free newsletter now!
Unfortunately, your registration was unsuccessful. Please try again later.
Ripening and unripe tomatoes on a vine.
There are tricks to extend your harvest; you don't have to throw away unripe tomatoes. Photo: Tim Sandall.

Cut off vines of unripe tomatoes grown outdoors before it gets too cold and ripen them indoors. Tip: Add a banana to speed up the process.

Read also harvesting tomatoes
Close-up of the purple flower of Scabiosa.
Scabiosa columbaria (Fluorophyllum) is a beautiful native flower that you can sow now. Photo: Govert de Jong.

This week is Native Sowing Week ! This is the perfect time to sow native seeds, so get started right away – and encourage your neighbors, friends, and family to join in too. This way, we can sow together for more biodiversity and bring as much space as possible to bloom!

Read also native flower field
A cutting of a fern lies in a growing tank.
Layering is a simple way to propagate your ferns. Photo: Sarah Cuttle.

Propagate ferns by allowing the mini plants that sprout from the midrib of a leaf to root in moist potting soil.

Cut off a healthy leaf with mini plants and secure it along the midrib to potting soil. Water well and place in a warm, moist spot. Once the plants have established roots, you can cut the midrib with pruning shears to separate them. Place them in pots.

Insect on flower Iris Reticulata
Dwarf iris ( Iris reticulata ). Photo: Sarah Cuttle.

Fill pots with bulbs of early dwarf irises , which will create a spectacle in February. Plant them in sandy potting soil, three times as deep as they are tall. As soon as the weather gets colder and wetter (usually October), move them to a cold frame to keep them cool but dry.

Tip!

Someone places a rock in a birdbath that has been cleaned.
After cleaning, place a pebble in the birdbath as a perch for birds and insects. Photo: Sarah Cuttle.

Wash and disinfect garden bird feeders, baths, and feeding platforms. This prevents the buildup of germs that could make the birds sick.

Close-up of the leaves of a red cabbage
Red cabbage. Photo: Sarah Cuttle.

Once you have harvested a cabbage (such as red or white cabbage), leave the stalk and score an X in it. Up to four new mini cabbages will then grow from it in a few weeks.

Small space, big harvest € 12.99
Mini vegetable garden
  • Which crops are always suitable?
  • Growing and sowing for a year-round harvest
  • Tips and advice from experts
Order now
Mini vegetable garden
Red peppers on the plant, ready for harvest.
Red pepper, ready for harvest.

You can harvest peppers as soon as they reach the right color and size. If you want a mild flavor, it's best to pick them early. The longer they hang on the plant, the hotter they become. The plants can tolerate lower temperatures well, so you still have a few weeks.

Someone is pruning a branch of summer raspberries down to the ground.
How to prune summer raspberries. Photo: Jason Ingram.

Autumn raspberries are likely still bearing fruit and some final flowers. Delay pruning these raspberries and prune them during the dormant season, cutting all the branches back to the ground.

Read also someone is pruning an old brown branch of summer raspberries back to the ground.
You don't need to prune evergreen ornamental grasses like this one.
Ornamental grass Carex flagellifera remains beautiful in autumn and winter. Photo: Sarah Cuttle.
Read also harvesting ornamental grass seeds
Someone is spreading pebbles over clay soil by hand.
Improve the drainage of clay soil with, among other things, pebbles.

Start improving clay soil before it becomes too wet (or frozen) to work. Add plenty of organic matter ( compost ) and, if necessary, a clay improver such as lava to improve the structure.

September 27 and 28 – De Wiersse Estate
Artisanal Plant Market

Find inspiration, get answers to pressing plant and garden questions, and go home with a head full of ideas and a trunk full of unsprayed plants from sustainable growers who are passionate about their craft. You'll find all of this in one beautiful location: the Artisanal Plant Market at Landgoed de Wiersse, which will take place this year on September 27 and 28, 2025.

  • More than 30 sustainable growers
  • A day full of garden inspiration, lectures and activities
  • Enjoy the estate, food and drinks
Order your tickets here
Artisanal Plant Market
gardenersworldmagazine

gardenersworldmagazine

Similar News

All News
Animated ArrowAnimated ArrowAnimated Arrow