September Planting Guide: Bulbs for the Kitchen and Garden

September is the perfect month to get bulbs in the ground, both kitchen staples and flowers. Here’s how to do it.

Onions and garlic are allotment essentials in the autumn months. They also serve you well throughout the rest of the season, with the delicious, flavour-packed bulbs, perfect for drying and saving for use through the year. It isn’t only edibles that you can enjoy now, though – many of the different types of flower bulbs are best planted at this time of year, too.

Onions
This crop prefers to grow in a sheltered and fertile, sunny site, and it is a good idea to add some well-rotted compost or manure to the ground before planting.
Get your onion sets in the ground in March or April, and they will be ready to harvest now, or you can sow now to overwinter. The sets should be sunk into the ground 10cm apart, in rows spaced at 30cm to allow the bulb to swell to its desired size.
It is a good idea to cover the sets, as they are appealing to birds and are easily plucked from the ground if they are left unprotected.

Problem, solved!

The bulbs can be susceptible to white rot and downy mildew. These are both fungal diseases, so good plot hygiene is the best bet for offering them protection and from preventing disease spread. Make sure your plants have plenty of air flow around them, and that you clear away any spent garden matter, or any diseased or damaged leaves.

Harvest time!
Now is the time of year you will be looking to lift your spring-sown onion crops. Carefully remove the bulbs from the earth once the foliage has died back, and leave them on a rack either in the sunlight, or under cover in a greenhouse, until they are dry enough to store.

Garlic
These bulbs grow best in a sunny, well-drained area, with well-rotted manure incorporated into the ground. Cloves should be planted 15cm apart, in rows at a 30cm spacing. This gives the crop space to grow to its full size.
Cover with horticultural fleece to protect young shoots from birds.
Similarly to onions, garlic can suffer fungal diseases, so good plot hygiene stands here, too.

Rich pickings
Harvest by carefully lifting the bulbs with a fork. Be careful not to spear them, as you will not be able to store any that are damaged.
Bulbs should be laid out to dry, and can be kept in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to use them.

Beautiful blooms
If you enjoy spring bulbs in your garden (and who doesn’t?) September and October are the ideal months to get them in the ground.
Different types will require slightly different treatment, so check the needs of your chosen varieties, but as a general rule, all bulbs like well-drained soil.
If the ground is heavy clay, add plenty of grit to trenches when you are planting them. If your soil is light and sandy, include some organic material.
Plant the bulbs about three to four times as deep as the bulb itself (the lighter the soil the deeper they should be placed).
Remember to make sure you give them some room to breathe. A good rule of thumb would be to leave the same amount of space between each one as the height of the bulb.