September can be a beautiful month in the garden. Often there will be lots of flowers still blooming. You are most likely to be still picking fruit and vegetables from the plants that you have tended all spring and summer. If you are thinking about what to plant in September and the soil is still warm, you will find that seeds will germinate quickly.
So if we have an Indian summer, your growing season can continue for a few more weeks and if there are still a few sunny days, you might be enjoying a couple of pleasant evenings out in the last of the summer sunshine. Here are a few suggestions of what to grow in September and what to get a head start on for next year.
What To Plant in September
Radishes
Radishes are fast-growing and so are perfect if you are thinking about what to grow in September. If the soil is still warm, you can sow radishes and they will germinate and grow quickly giving you a late-season harvest in next to no time.
Spring Onions
Spring onions are also a good choice when thinking about what to plant in September. There are a couple of varieties including White Lisbon which are ideal for sowing in autumn time and then they will produce an early crop in Spring. This is known as overwintering and it’s a good way to get a jump start on your spring harvests the year before. It’s recommended that you prepare your soil before sowing your spring onions, by adding something like blood, fish and bone, and then leaving them until springtime. You should be able to simply pull up your spring onions come spring.
Turnips
Turnips are also fast-growing, so are ideal when you are thinking about what vegetables to plant in September. Turnips can be sown in September as they actually quite like the cooler and slightly damper conditions. You can harvest the turnips when they are around six weeks old. They should be around golf-ball sized.
Spring Cabbages
If you sow your spring cabbages now, they will be one of the first crops you can enjoy when the spring comes along. You’ll want to prepare your soil with compost or manure before sowing your cabbages as they are heavy feeders. You’ll also want to make sure you spread out your cabbage plants adequately as they do take up a lot of room. It’s recommended that you allocate between 45 and 60cm to each plant. The final thing to remember when looking at planting spring cabbages is to cover them with horticultural fleece from around October or whenever the first ground frost arrives.
Broad Beans
Another great plant to think about when looking at what seeds to sow in September is broad beans. By sowing your seeds earlier in autumn, your plants will establish over the wintertime and you’ll get an earlier crop in the spring. Broad bean plants are another one that will need to be covered with horticultural fleece during the cold frosts.
Kniphofia
Kniphofia or red hot pokers, as they are more commonly known are stunning perennials that can be planted in September. You can either sow the seeds in September or you can buy the actual flowering plants and find a nice spot for them. If you do buy the actual plants, they will likely flower throughout September and some varieties will even go into October.
Violas
Depending on the variety, you can start your Violas off in a cold frame, ready for planting out in the spring of next year. If you’ve grown Pansies before, you might like to try Violas. They are a smaller version and often produce more flowers than Pansies. There are lots of different colours, so you can experiment with different colours within your garden scheme.
Poppies
When you are thinking about what flowers to plant in September, you should know that you can sow Poppy seeds this month. Poppies can be sown in Spring, but you can also sow the seeds again later on in the year. This is especially good if you’ve had a few poppies flower and they’ve left behind the seed pods as you can scatter the seeds inside the pods once you’ve cut them back. I’m a big fan of poppies and I think they look stunning when they flower. If you scatter them in September time, you are likely to get an earlier display the following year.
Crocus
Crocuses are one of the earliest flowering bulbs, often popping up whilst there’s still a dusting of snow on the ground. Crocuses are a great choice when considering what flowers to plant in September, as earlier planting will mean that something bright will pop up in your garden during the latter part of winter or the early part of spring.
You can choose to plant your crocus bulbs either straight into the garden – borders or grass are both fine. Or if you prefer, you can add them to pots. If you do decide to plant them in pots, you’ll need to check them and water them as they are much more likely to dry out.
Salvias
September is a great time to sow hardy Salvias. They are best sown into trays or pots and then left in an unheated greenhouse or cold frame throughout the winter but if you live in a slightly warmer area of the UK, you should be able to sow them directly outside. You’ll need to choose a site that drains well and doesn’t get waterlogged when it rains.
Just because the height of summer might be over, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be spending time in your garden enjoying what’s already there and also planning for next year. I hope this has given you some good suggestions on what to plant in September. I’d love to hear what’s going in your garden this September.
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