Monty Don shares 'biggest and most essential' gardening job to do in September and October

Gardeners' World presenter Monty Don has named the one garden job that is the "biggest and most important" to do this month and next.

Monty Don has highlighted what he believes to be the most crucial garden task for the months of September and October.

The 69-year-old gardening guru has revealed he has been adding grit into his compost mix ahead of planting his bulbs. He says now is the time gardeners should be looking at planting their bulbs ready for next spring.

On Gardeners' World, Monty advised: "We're at that time of year when planting spring bulbs is the biggest and essential job for the rest of this month and throughout October. I try and get in all my spring bulbs both into the ground, into grass, into pots - except for tulips. So daffodils, irises, scillas, muscari. And some hyacinths."

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He stressed the significance of proper drainage for spring bulbs, opting for pots with ample drainage holes and using crocks at the bottom to facilitate this.

Monty also issued a cautionary note to gardeners considering hyacinths for Christmas, reminding them that these are naturally spring bulbs and would require heat treatment to bloom in December.

He further explained that autumn's warm soil is ideal for bulb planting, allowing roots to establish before winter sets in. Monty added: "And really, most bulbs are better planted in September, if you can get it done. It's not essential; you can plant in October, and tulips shouldn't be planted till November and December."

Monty advises that bulbs should be planted with at least their own height of soil above them, ideally twice as high.

He demonstrated this by planting his hyacinths, placing six in a pot to give them "room to grow". He then topped the bulbs with grit to prevent the compost from "capping", which is when a crust forms from a mix of hard and soft compost.

In the past, Monty has suggested using a bulb planter to ensure bulbs are planted at the correct depth. He stated: "A good bulb planter, if you're planting any amount of bulbs, will be worth its weight in gold and will last for years and years because the important thing with bulbs is you do need to plant them at the right depth."