Late autumn is ideal for planting bare-root roses, fruit trees and berry bushes. Their roots keep growing in soil that is still warm. Keep roots moist, soak them before planting, dig wide but shallow and set graft unions correctly. Avoid nitrogen, and water in with microbiological fertiliser or vermicompost extract to help them establish.

Leachate, worm tea and vermicompost extract are often confused. Leachate drains from decomposing scraps, may contain pathogens and salts, and belongs back on the compost heap. Worm tea is brewed from finished castings but is short-lived and variable. Vermicompost extract is concentrated and stable, delivering humic acids, amino acids and beneficial microbes reliably.

Garlic and overwintering onions are planted in mid-autumn because garlic needs one to two months of cold to form separate cloves, and because warm autumn soil lets roots establish before frost. Alliums have very sparse root systems and depend heavily on soil microorganisms for phosphorus, so biological soil preparation at planting matters more than fertiliser. Plant the largest cloves, flat end down, in well-drained soil.