This work is pending

The last harvest

Cucumbers, herbs and aubergines are harvested in good time before the threat of night frosts. Celeriac and beetroot should also be brought into the house and stored.

Tomatoes and peppers continue to develop flowers and fruits in frost-free weather. These are only picked when the first night frost has been reported. Place the fruits by a sunny window, they will ripen a little more here. Alternatively, you can cook a delicious jam from unripe tomatoes, which enriches the winter menu with its exquisite aroma.

Dig up or better not?

Whether you dig the bed completely or just loosen it up a bit depends on the Structure of the earth away:

• Heavy soils are dug up, otherwise there is a risk of silting. Loosen the bed with the spade about eight inches deep. This allows frost to spread in the ground. Due to the expansion of the water, the clods of earth break up (frost blast) and in the next spring the earth is finely crumbly.
• Normal soils, on the other hand, are loosened a little with the digging fork. On this occasion, work some crap or mature Compost soil a.

Green manure for strong vegetables

By Green manure you can give the harvested vegetable patch in autumn new strength for the next gardening year. Sow:

• Yellow lupine
• Persian clover
• Yellow mustard
• or Phacelia.

These plants grow quickly, loosen the soil with their roots and can be incorporated into the digging after a few weeks. The soil organisms convert the green manure into humus and release valuable nutrients in the process.

The right winter protection

A protective layer of mulch made of straw, leaves or harvest residues protects the soil in the cold season and provides it with additional nutrients.