Dormant-season planting and protection. The beds go to sleep.
The month ahead
November is the month the garden goes to sleep. Frost is general across the country, the days are short, and little grows outdoors. But the ground can still be worked between frosts, and dormant planting continues. It is the last chance to get bare-root fruit in the ground and garlic planted before winter locks the soil solid.
Continue planting bare-root fruit bushes and canes while they are dormant. Plant garlic if you have not already ; late planting still works in free-draining ground. Protect overwintering crops and tender herbs with fleece, cloches or a cold frame. The difference between a plant that survives winter and one that does not is often just a layer of fleece.
What to do in November
Sow indoors
Under cover: windowsill, heated propagator or greenhouse.
None of our 25 crops is typically started under cover this month.
Sow outdoors
Direct into prepared ground (or under a cloche/fleece where noted).
Too cold or too late for direct outdoor sowing of our crops this month.
Plant out
Move transplants, sets, tubers or cloves into their final spot.
Harvest
Ready to pick or lift this month (windows are approximate).
Fruit & structure
Prune apple and pear trees once the leaves have fallen and the tree is fully dormant. Check tree ties and stakes after autumn gales ; loosen any that are cutting into the bark.
Bring clay and terracotta pots under cover; frost will crack them. Wrap outdoor taps and lag pipes to prevent freezing. Put out fat balls and keep bird feeders topped up ; the birds you feed now are the ones that will eat your aphids and caterpillars in spring.
Key jobs in November
- Continue planting bare-root fruit bushes and canes while dormant.
- Plant garlic if not already done; late planting still works in free-draining ground.
- Protect overwintering crops and tender herbs with fleece, cloches or a cold frame.
- Insulate and check the greenhouse; ventilate on milder days to deter grey mould.
- Wrap outdoor taps and lag pipes to prevent freezing.
- Dig in compost and manure on empty beds, or cover them to protect soil structure.
- Prune apple and pear trees once leaves have fallen and the tree is fully dormant.
- Check tree ties and stakes after autumn gales; loosen any that are cutting into bark.
- Bring clay and terracotta pots under cover; frost will crack them.
- Put out fat balls and keep bird feeders topped up through the lean months.
The Scottish picture this month
Cold, wet and short. Frost is general across the country. Little grows now, but the ground can still be worked between frosts and dormant planting continues.
Frost: The frost season is fully established everywhere; even the mild Islands reach their first-frost band around early November.
Region-aware toolFrost Date CalculatorYour local last and first frost bands: the single most useful number for timing everything above.Watch out for
Vine weevil (larvae)
The lethal stage: grubs eat roots from autumn to spring, worst in pots and containers. Check the roots of any plant that wilts for no clear reason.
These problems track the weather, not the calendar. Their month-by-month activity isn't sourced, so we tie them to the conditions that trigger them rather than pretend a date:
Slugs & snails
Watch when: mild, wet, damp conditions, worst around soft young growth
Activity tracks moisture and temperature, so risk climbs in any mild damp spell. Pressure is highest on tender seedlings in spring and again in a wet autumn.
Sources
- RHS: grow-your-own guides: sowing, planting and harvest timing for all 25 crops (each window hand-derived from the crop's own RHS prose)
- GrowScotland: pest activity framing: which pests to flag each month is our own reading of RHS activity data. We surface only what RHS sources, and frame weather-driven diseases by trigger conditions rather than inventing a Scottish calendar