If you are planning to keep on top of your gardening jobs, don't miss the top tips for September from West Dean Gardens' Head Gardener Tom Brown.

• Take semi ripe wood cuttings of your favourite tender perennials such as Pelargoniums, Heliotropes and Salvias. Ideally get them rooted and growing before the lower light levels.
• September is a bumper time for apples and pears. Look out for tell tales signs that your tree is ready to pick by a collection of fallen fruit at the base of the tree. Be sure to pop in and buy some of our unusual varieties as it'll help broaden your horizons and open your eyes to the more unusual flavours which are very rarely offered in the supermarkets.
• Watch out for overwatering your tomatoes and plants under glass. Cool morning and evening temperatures often mean that our plants do not process water as quickly and many dislike going into the evening with cold, damp roots. Keep ventilation high to avoid botrytis.
• Harvest your pumpkins and squashes, collect the fruit and cure the skins in a well-lit place. By ripening the skins, they harden and will store for much longer.
• Watch out for free seeds, a number of plants will have developing seed heads forming, wait until the seeds come away easily and store them in a paper bag until the spring and don't forget to label them!

Find out more about the team at West Dean Gardens