October at Bernaville

Autumn is well and truly underway come October and the shift in evening temperatures will certainly be noticeable! This time of year will usually bring the end of most summer vegetable and fruit varieties so pick what you can from the allotment and then clear those spent crops away into the compost bin. Pea and bean roots can be left in the ground and will naturally decompose whilst adding nutrients back into the soil if you so wish.

Tony’s top tip

One thing which will also become abundant this month is the leaves dropping from all the trees. Use a good quality leaf rake for the lawn and create a leaf pile:

• It will be really useful to Autumn wildlife for shelter when the weather turns.
• Birds will use it for tracking down those tasty worms.
• If you have lots of leaves you can make your own leaf mould to then become a soil improver next year!