ORCHARD : A waning gibbous moon still close to Full — fruit picked today for storage carries good keeping quality. Gather the last quince with care, cradling each fruit to avoid bruising; a single nick in the skin shortens shelf life considerably. Harvest pear and apple remaining on the tree: wrap each one in newspaper and lay in a single layer in a ventilated crate. Check stored walnut and chestnut for any soft or mouldy specimens — remove them before decay spreads. In the evening the day shifts to a root character, a fine window to plant bare-root raspberry canes (50 cm apart) or currant bushes (1.2 m apart) if the soil is workable.
VEGETABLE PATCH : Before the evening changeover, collect seeds from squash and pumpkin set aside for the purpose — scoop, rinse, dry on a cloth for a fortnight, then store in labelled paper envelopes. Leek transplants can go out now if you have sturdy seedlings ready: set them 12 cm apart in rows 30 cm wide, dropping each into a dibber hole and watering in without backfilling so the stem blanches naturally over coming weeks.
LANDSCAPING : Autumn soil still holds warmth at depth, which suits bulb planting well. Tuck tulip bulbs 15 cm deep, 10 cm apart; daffodil at 15 cm deep; hyacinth at 12 cm. In Mediterranean gardens, oleander in containers needs moving under shelter before night temperatures dip below 5 °C. Spread a 5–8 cm mulch of wood chip around the base of camellia and rhododendron to protect surface roots from the coming cold.