Think your garden's ready to wind down as September arrives? Think again! This month brings misty mornings and mellower days, but your trusty watering companion isn't quite ready for hibernation yet. With the right attention, you can savour the last of summer's bounty while giving new plantings the liquid love they need to flourish. Here's our September gardening tips:
The Vegetable Patch
September's a bountiful and important month for a gardener. Harvesting summer's gifts while sowing seeds for tomorrow's table is all in a day's work, and attentive watering has been, and continues to be, the key to success.
Ripening & Harvesting
Tomatoes: Those gorgeous specimens still clinging to the vine need a slightly lighter touch now. Ease off the watering to concentrate their flavours, though you mustn't leave them completely high and dry. When watering becomes erratic, you'll find yourself dealing with tough skins, split fruits, or the dreaded blossom end rot. For the most succulent harvest possible, treat them to an evening drink and harvest them the following morning when they're at their absolute peak.
For gentle evening watering without disturbing ripening fruits, The Cradley Deluxe – One and a Half Gallon delivers a soft, fine spray that’s perfect for tomatoes.
Pumpkins and winter squashes: Your plot's big friendly giants should be swelling quite nicely by now. While you'll want to reduce watering to help them develop tough storage skins, keeping the soil gently moist prevents the leaves from becoming stressed and wilting. A simple trick for perfect pumpkins involves placing boards or straw beneath them, which keeps them off damp soil while discouraging unwanted slug visitors.
The Bearwood Brook – Two Gallon, with its wide-diameter brass rose, makes light work of larger patches, giving pumpkins and squashes steady, even moisture.
Sowing September's Seedlings
An ideal time for sowing winter salads, spinach, chard, and oriental greens, plus getting those spring cabbage transplants settled in their new homes. Remember to use your finest rose to gently water newly sown seeds – keeping things steadily moist without dislodging your little friends. Little and often beats the occasional deluge too, especially after a few deceptively sunny September days.
The Rowley Ripple – Two Pint Copper, supplied with an extra-fine brass rose, offers the gentlest spray for seedlings and new sowings.
New Plantings
Perennials & Shrubs
September's combination of warm soil and gentler days creates dreamy conditions for new plantings. Give new perennials and shrubs a thorough welcome drink at planting time to soak that root zone, then keep them consistently happy for their first month. Twice-weekly deep watering usually does the trick, unless Mother Nature lends a helping hand. The secret's in the balance: moist but not soggy. Heavy soils that stay waterlogged can suffocate roots and invite rot, so always check before adding more water. And remember, bare-root plants deserve a good pre-planting soak to set them up for success.
The Warley Fall – Two Gallon, complete with brass downspout, is ideal for deep, precise root-zone watering when establishing new shrubs and perennials.
Spring Bulbs
As you tuck daffodils, alliums, and other spring beauties into the soil, give them a thorough settling-in drink to encourage those roots to get growing. This initial watering usually sees them through until spring awakens them, though during a dry autumn you might need to check monthly and add a gentle top-up. Bulbs absolutely despise sitting in soggy conditions, which quickly becomes a fast track to rot. Make sure drainage is good and resist the urge to repeatedly water their beds when autumn's being generous with rainfall, and save tulips for October-November planting to dodge tulip fire.
Containers and Baskets
September often surprises gardeners with how beautifully summer containers continue performing, provided they receive steady watering and regular deadheading attention. Petunias, begonias, and fuchsias prove particularly generous with their late-season displays.
When you're creating fresh autumn arrangements, remember that newly planted specimens have smaller, less established root systems and might need more frequent attention as they establish. During their first fortnight, checking soil moisture daily helps ensure they settle in properly, after which you can adjust your routine based on local weather patterns and rainfall.
The Sutton Splash – Four Pint is lightweight and nimble, perfect for keeping baskets and containers refreshed with either a soft spray or precise downspout watering.
A Month of Transition
September's all about graceful handovers – some crops finishing their summer story while new seedlings and plantings begin their journey. Walking through a well-watered garden this month brings quiet satisfaction: the last tomatoes ripening to perfection, seedlings pushing through eager soil, and containers responding to your care with continued colour. Your watering can – simple, reliable, perfectly designed – helps nurture both the season's final flourish and the promise of growth to come.
