Susan Explains Autumn Sowing Broad Beans Broad Beans sown in the spring inevitably become infested with aphids as the season progresses. They don't seem to affect the plants too badly but there is a way to avoid this altogether. Simply sow them around this time of year. Broad Beans are relatively hardy plants and in many areas will germinate and grow very slowly in the autumn and winter. Roughly speaking, if your weather conditions are average or better they will survive,

You should end up with a crop of broad beans about three weeks earlier compared to a spring sowing and this will greatly reduce the amount of aphids which attack your broad beans. Click here for more information. The same autumn planting applies to garlic. But we tried this last year and lost the entire crop to rust. The spring sown garlic was far more healthy.

Peach Trees
Peach tree can grow well in the UK but in most areas they need to be fan trained against a warm, south-facing, protected wall. Early late September to early October is the best time to plant them. You need to set up most of the training wires at the time of planting. You can find full details of how to plant and train them here.

Blackberries
It's all very pleasant to pick blackberries from hedgerows but the fruits are small compared to the cultivated varieties. Mid October is a good time to plant blackberry bushes. Think carefully about where you plant them, that small cane planted will grow much larger in two years time.

As well as planting now, make sure you prune all stems now which have produced fruit this year. Full instructions on planting and pruning can be found here.

Asparagus
We receive lots of emails on when to cut down asparagus. The answer is to cut the stems down to 5cm (2in) above ground level when the foliage is yellow. Don't cut the stems earlier because they will be absorbing energy for the roots long after you have stopped harvesting them. Now is about the time, in most areas, to cut them down. Click here for more asparagus information.