ORCHARD : Fruit day on a waning gibbous moon — a fine moment to harvest and collect. Gather ripe apples and pears now, choosing those that come away cleanly with a gentle twist; lay them in a single layer in a cool, dark store, checking each for bruises before storing. Collect seeds from squash and pumpkin too: scoop them out, rinse, and dry fully on a cloth in a ventilated spot before storing in paper envelopes.
VEGETABLE PATCH : Tap ripening squash and pumpkin skins — a hollow sound means they are ready. Harvest before cold nights arrive and cure in a warm, airy place for ten days to harden the skin. Broad beans can go in now, 5 cm deep, seeds 10 cm apart, rows 40 cm; an autumn sowing produces an earlier, more robust crop next spring.
LANDSCAPING : Crocus bulbs planted this week, 8 cm deep and in clusters, will naturalise beautifully under deciduous trees. Daffodil bulbs follow at 15 cm deep — a handful of grit beneath each bulb improves drainage in heavier soils and prevents rot over winter.