November

Fruit trees

• Thin out congested spurs on restricted fruit trees.
• Tie in new tiers of espaliers.
• Prune apples, pears, quinces and medlars.

Soft fruit

• Prune red and white currants and gooseberries.

General

• Take delivery of and plant new fruit trees and bushes. Don't plant if the ground is frosted or too wet.

Sowing and planting

• Dig up chicory roots to be forced. Pot them up after removing foliage and position them in a dark warm place. The tasty chicons will appear in three to six weeks.
• Sow over wintering broad beans (mild areas only) outside or under cloches where the soil is well drained, or in pots in an unheated greenhouse in cold districts.
• Plant garlic cloves in modules inside a cold frame, or outdoors in mild areas in its final position (free-draining soils and low rainfall areas only).

General care

• Parsnips can be left in the ground until needed, or lifted and then buried in a shallow trench for easy access when needed. They taste better when frosted.
• Celeriac can also be left in the ground for a bit, but do protect them from the cold with a thick mulch of straw, bracken, or other suitable material.
• Stake any Brussels sprouts stalks that look leggy and vulnerable to wind rock.
• Clean and store bamboo canes in the shed or other dry place to ensure they're still in good condition for next year.
• Dig over, incorporating well-rotted organic matter if available and weed vacant areas of the vegetable plot. 
• Now is a good time to get ahead and prepare new asparagus beds for planting up in the spring.
• Order seed catalogues for next year, if you haven't already done so.