VEGETABLE PATCH : A root day with a freshly waxing crescent — the soil is ready and so are your hands. Dig up the last parsnips before heavy autumn rain makes the ground sticky; store them in crates of damp sand in a cool shed. Tuberous chervil can be lifted the same way. If you have a spare bed to fill, push turnip seedlings to 10 cm apart in the row, rows 25 cm wide.
ORCHARD : Hazel and quince tree planting holes can be prepared while the ground is still workable — loosen the base, mix in a bucket of compost, and let the bed settle before bare-root stock arrives in November. Currant bushes and blackcurrants benefit from a 5 cm mulch of well-rotted compost around the root zone now.
LANDSCAPING : Crocus and hyacinth bulbs still waiting in their bags deserve attention before the soil cools further. Crocus go in at 8 cm depth; hyacinths need 12 cm, with a pinch of grit beneath each bulb on heavier soils to prevent rot. Hellebore plants moved into light shade and moist, humus-rich soil today will anchor well before winter.