Gardening tips for September 2026

Who can remember the long hot summer of 1976, or who was around in 1976 but can no longer remember the long hot summer? The few details I can recall are that 1975 was a dry year followed by a dry winter which is why the long hot summer of 1976 left us with an acute water shortage with standpipes in the streets and a dried up River Thames and, more surprisingly, the great ladybird invasion! We haven’t resorted to standpipes yet; this is nothing to do with the water companies doing a better job of supply and demand or storage but because we had a wet June (easily forgotten) which helped fill the aquifers which supply most of our water in West Sussex. Another fact from 1976: when it did start raining at the end of August, it didn’t stop until the end of October, the sudden deluge coming shortly after the government had appointed a Minister for Drought. Do we need another one of those now, a new job for our most recent ex-PM perhaps!

The kitchen garden

September is usually for harvesting the fruits of our labours but this got underway in the heat of August, the weather prompting an early harvest and more than likely, an early autumn. Anyone wanting to risk the weather returning to something like normal should consider planting spring cabbage, spinach and onion sets. September is a good month for planting rocket, remember to thin out once the seedlings have produced their first true leaves.

Taking a chance on the weather being warmer, now is a good time to plant container grown peaches and nectarines. Or to really impress the neighbours, try planting a pomegranate tree. Some varieties are surprisingly hardy, tolerating temperature of -15C; plant against a wall or sheltered corner and yes, they can be grown from seed. A seed from a pomegranate needs to be dried first and then the seed coating rubbed a few times with a piece of sandpaper followed by a couple of day in a glass of water before planting in a mix of compost and sand. Water, cover with a plastic bag and put in the airing cupboard until it germinates (up to six weeks, ensure to keep it moist). Then onto a sunny windowsill, remove the plastic bag and keep it watered. When the first true leaves have appeared, pot up and look after it until time to plant out in the garden next spring.

Lawns

Remember lawns, those lush vistas of serene verdant and emerald, meticulously manicured landscaped carpets, sublime in the early morning sunlight. All that soon faded to a brittle dusty, crispy yellowed brown during the summer, so what to do about bringing the lawns back to life?

Before doing anything, just hold on for a moment, sit back and do nothing; the best thing for dried grass is to leave it alone. Brown grass has become dormant, not dead. It is protecting itself by keeping a mat of dried grass above the soil helping to keep any remaining moisture under the ground and trying to keep the roots cooler ready for the eventual rain.

Avoid cutting, scarifying, feeding or watering the grass while it looks like something out of a breakfast cereal box. If you do have remnants of green, a very light cut is possible just as a tidy up, this should be done with the mower set at one of its highest settings, cutting short will stress out the grass.

Over time through the autumn and into winter and spring the lawn will recover, any parts that don’t can be reseeded or replaced with new turf.

Fishponds

This is a repeat from last year because the very hot weather has made this even more relevant. The hot weather through the summer can soon exhaust the oxygen available in the water. Topping up a pond or replacing a quantity of the water will help restore oxygen levels. The easy way to maintain the correct balance, but more costly, is to invest in a pump to circulate and aerate the water.

EGRGA Autumn Show

The EGRGA Autumn Show will be held on Saturday 12^th September at Rudgwick Village Hall, supported once again by the very talented Ellens Green Art Group. The show isn’t just for members, everyone is welcome to come alone to see the fruit, veg and flower exhibits as well as the range of art on display. Even better is to enter something into the show, particularly if you have never done so. Instructions on how to enter can be found on our website www.gardenreg.org, your entry must be recorded by 9pm on 10^th September to be accepted. Your entries should be brought to the hall between 08:30 and 10:00 on the day of the show. If you are new to this, there will always be someone on hand to show you what to do. 

Keep gardening, Richard Haigh