Autumn Gardening UK: What to Plant and Do Now
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The quiet head start
Walk round an allotment in October and the beds look tired. Yet the gardeners who eat earliest next year are busy now, because the crops that do best through a British winter are the ones that go in before it. Overwintering onion sets planted this autumn give a crop the following summer. Think of autumn as planting for next summer.
Garlic: in by the end of November
October and November are the garlic months. The catch is wet soil: outdoors, plant only on free-draining ground in milder, drier parts of the country, and anywhere else start the cloves in modules in a cold frame and plant them out later. Missed the window? On light soil, garlic and shallots can still go in during late winter. More in how to grow garlic and shallots.
Broad beans for the bold
Hardy broad beans can be sown in October and November in milder areas, with a cloche or fleece over them where winters bite harder. If your garden is cold or wet, wait and sow in spring instead. See broad beans.
The cabbages you sowed in summer
Spring cabbages sown in July or August are planted out in September and October. They overwinter as young plants and give fresh greens in spring. Brassicas over winter need netting or fleece, because pigeons strip them. More in how to grow cabbage.
Do not leave soil bare
An empty bed through a wet winter loses structure and nutrients. Sowing a green manure on it protects the soil and holds on to nutrients until spring. If blight hit your potatoes this year, clear away the leftover top growth when you lift them.
Planting fruit for years of harvests
From late autumn, bare-root fruit trees and bushes can be planted while they are dormant, whenever the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. One afternoon now means fruit for decades: see apples, raspberries and blackcurrants.
Autumn, month by month
Autumn questions
Is it too late to plant garlic in November?
No: November is still garlic month. On heavy or wet soil, start the cloves in modules in a cold frame instead of planting straight into the ground.
Should I sow broad beans in autumn or spring?
Autumn in mild areas, under cloches or fleece where it is colder; in a cold, wet garden, spring is safer.
What should I do with empty beds?
Cover them with a green manure to protect the soil over winter.
Sources and further reading
- RHS: Grow your own: September jobs
- RHS: Grow your own: October jobs
- Garden Organic: What to sow and plant in October
- RHS: Grow your own: November jobs
- Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh: Winter in your edible garden
- RHS: Grow your own: August jobs
- RHS: Grow your own: February jobs
- RHS: Grow your own: December jobs
- RHS: Grow your own: January jobs
Facts on this page are summarised in our own words from the pages above; each is supported by at least two of them, or by one plus well-established growing science (noted in our research file). Every source was opened and checked on 23 October 2026.
Put this season on paper
A season goes better when it is written down. Sketch what goes where in the free Vegetable Garden Layout Planner Tool, then keep sowing dates, harvests and notes for the whole year in the UK Vegetable Garden Planner (printable PDF). Every crop we cover is in the UK growing guides.
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Match The Season To The Work
Seasonal jobs come down to timing, soil care, and keeping a simple record of what needs doing next.
Keep going
Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.