Autumn · at the moment
SeptemberSummer lingers, autumn settles in
September is often one of the loveliest months in the Belgian vegetable garden: the light is soft, the nights are turning cooler, and the summer harvests carry on while autumn appears. Tomatoes, beans and courgettes are still producing, the squashes are taking on their colour, and the apples and pears are ready to pick. Sow the last lamb’s lettuce and spinach, plant spring cabbages, and gradually cover the soil for winter.
Tips of the month
- Harvest tomatoes, beans, courgettes, peppers, onions and maincrop potatoes.
- Pick apples, pears, late plums, grapes and hazelnuts.
- Sow lamb’s lettuce, spinach, radishes and green manures on the empty beds.
- Plant spring cabbages, strawberries and, at the end of the month, autumn garlic.
- Lift potatoes in dry weather and let them dry off before they go into the cellar.
- Pull out finished plants and cover the soil with compost and leaves.
- Sow winter green manures: rye, vetch, mustard.
In the vegetable garden and orchard
What to do in september
Sow under cover
Harvesting
- Tomato
- Courgette
- Cucumber
- Sweet pepper
- Aubergine
- French bean (dwarf bean)
- Potato
- Carrot
- Beetroot
- Radish
- Turnip
- Leek
- Lettuce
- Rocket
- Cauliflower
- Cabbage
- Kale
- Broccoli
- Celeriac
- Florence fennel
- Winter squash and pumpkins
- Swiss chard
- Basil
- Parsley
- Chives
- Thyme
- Mint
- Coriander
- Dill
- Strawberry
- Raspberry
- Blueberry
- Blackberry
- Apple
- Pear
- Plum
- Grape
- Fig
- Melon
- Hazelnut
On the plate
Eating in september
September is the richest month of the year on the plate: ratatouille from the last summer vegetables, the first squash soups, apple tart, poached pears, grapes and fresh hazelnuts. You eat summer and autumn in the same meal.
Living well
The return to routine goes down better with a basket of apples and the scent of roasted tomatoes. September is an invitation to slow down in the garden: you gather, you tidy, and you look at what worked well and what you will do differently.