September Growing Guide
Harvest the last of summer, sow hardy crops and prepare for cooler days. September is a month of gathering, clearing and planting for the seasons ahead.
Growing in September
September brings plenty to harvest, but the change of season is beginning to show. Nights become cooler, growth starts to slow and empty spaces appear as summer crops finish.
Keep harvesting beans, courgettes, tomatoes, apples and autumn raspberries. Lift potatoes on a dry day, allow them to dry before storing and remove damaged fruit and vegetables before they spoil the rest.
Sow hardy leaves and green manures, plant spring cabbage and prepare beds for autumn onions and garlic. Use the weekly guides below to break the month into manageable jobs.
September at a glance
What you can sow, harvest and look after this month.
Sow now
- Winter lettuce under cover
- Spinach and hardy salad leaves
- Rocket and radishes
- Spring onions
- Oriental leaves
- Green manure on empty beds
Plant out
- Spring cabbage
- Overwintering onion sets
- Garlic towards month-end
- Strawberry runners
- Hardy herbs
Harvest
- Tomatoes and courgettes
- Runner and French beans
- Maincrop potatoes
- Sweetcorn and squash
- Apples, pears and plums
- Autumn raspberries
Key jobs
- Clear finished summer crops
- Compost healthy plant material
- Protect squash from damp soil
- Cover brassicas against pigeons
- Clean and store empty pots
September weekly guides
Choose a week for a more detailed list of sowing, harvesting and maintenance jobs.
Gather the late-summer harvest
Pick beans, tomatoes and courgettes, lift potatoes and begin hardy sowings.
Open Week 1 → September · Week 2Make room for autumn
Clear finished crops, sow green manure and plant vegetables for spring.
Open Week 2 → September · Week 3Store and preserve
Check stored crops, freeze or preserve surplus produce and protect ripening fruit.
Open Week 3 → September · Week 4Prepare for October
Plant onions and garlic, tidy supports and prepare beds for colder weather.
Open Week 4 →A few helpful September jobs
Small, regular jobs are easier than trying to tackle everything at once.
Ripen the last tomatoes
Remove lower leaves that are shading tomato fruit and pinch out new flowers that are unlikely to ripen. Bring healthy green tomatoes indoors if cold nights threaten.
Store potatoes carefully
Lift maincrop potatoes on a dry day. Let the skins dry, remove damaged tubers and store sound potatoes somewhere cool, dark and frost-free.
Use empty ground
Sow green manure where beds will otherwise remain bare. It protects the soil, reduces weeds and can be dug in later to add organic matter.
Get children involved
Children can collect seeds from dry pods, sort apples, search for ripe squash or make labels for autumn onion and garlic rows.
Explore the full growing year
Return to the main Grow Your Own page or continue into October.
Main Grow Your Own guide Continue to October →