It’s August, and when the sun comes out we are not looking for a seat in it, but for one in the shade to cool off. We all have an area that isn’t in full sun and maybe partially shady. Crops are ripening well, and it promises to another bumper year for most of us.
Plants will now be at their peak in growth, so keep tieing in those shoots and removing suckers from your tomatoes. Keep your eyes peeled for pest and disease such as red spider mite and whitefly.
They are about, and rather than wait for an infestation treat weekly with a soap liquid spray to ensure they do not get a hold, now it is essential to feed all fruiting crops with a high potash fertiliser like tomato feed, Comfrey, or a liquid seaweed in order to help them get the best crops for you this year
15 Jobs You Can Do Now
- Plant Potatoes for Christmas
- Sow seeds for winter crops
- Plant Out tender lettuce
- Turn Your Compost To let Air In
- Plant onion sets
- Remove Diseased Leaves From Roses
- Prune peaches and nectarines
- Sow Broad beans indoors
- Use cloches to extend the sowing and growing season
- In Dry Spells, Don’t Forget To Water Perennials
- Deadhead bedding plants
- Water yellowing plants with an iron tonic
- Prune summer flowering shrubs
- Pick bulbils off Lilly stems and plant into new pots
- Cut back tomato leaves to first unripe truss
Plant potatoes for Christmas
There is nothing better than growing your own Christmas dinner. Knowing everything is fresh and homegrown. This month is the perfect time to sow potatoes ready for a Christmas harvest.
You would be much more likely to succeed with growing them in containers this time of year. It will allow you to move them into a greenhouse later in the year to avoid blight and bad weather.
Sow seeds for winter crops
It’s hard to imagine that summer is just starting and now we are sowing seed for winter crops. Loads of gardeners stop gardening around September. But there is no reason to stop. Gardening is a 365 day a year past time and with a little thought and attention, you can grow all year. Especially if you have a greenhouse.
Prune peaches and nectarines
Unlike a lot of fruit trees that require pruning in winter or early spring. Peaches and Nectarines need to be pruned this month. When pruning and training your trees, try to create an open habit. Aim for a goblet shape as this will allow good airflow.
Sow Broad Beans Indoors
along with winter sowing, we are now going to sow our Broadbeans (Fava) for an early harvest next year. Simply sow them into root trainers. It is important to use deep pots or root trainers as these beans need to send their roots down before winter sets in.
Use cloches to extend the sowing season
If you have cloches available then you can use these towards the end of the month to extend the season. It will allow you to keep sowing seed in a warm environment. This will help balance out day and nighttime temperatures.
Deadhead bedding plants
To keep bedding plants going and producing blooms, It is important to deadhead them daily. This allows the plant to put its energy into producing more flowers instead of seed. As you are removing the dead flowers the plant puts out more trying to produce seed.
Cut back tomato leaves to first unripe truss
With light levels dropping, we need to get as much light to the fruits as possible in order to ripen them. Remove all the leaves right up to the bottom truss of fruit. If the plant is bush you can reduce the length of the rest of the leaves by half. This should bring in the light required to turn your fruits ripe.
Not too late to sow
- Rocket
- Lettuce
- Carrots
- Onions (sets)
- Chinese Cabbage
- Swiss Chard
- Perpetual Spinach
- Pakchoi
- Coriander
- Basil
- mizuna
- Potatoes
- Broad Beans (Fava)
Other Jobs You Can Do
- Look after container plants
- Hoe Hoe Hoe
- Get a second flush of roses
- Take fuchsia cutting
- Damp down greenhouse floors
- Thin out bunches of grapes
- Order prepared hyacinth bulbs
- Prune peaches and nectarines
- Plant a new bed of strawberries using your runners
- Prune out fruited canes from your raspberries
- Train Tie And Feed Cucumbers
- Pile earth around celery to blanch the stems
- cover carrots with fleece to keep away carrot fly
- Sow Winter Flowers Now
- Cut back mint for fresh new growth
- Order garlic and onion sets
- Cut back leaves on grapevines to allow the sun to ripen fruit
Conclusion
Things are starting to slow down a little now, But do not take your eye off the ball. There is loads to harvest and sow. This will bring its own challenges such as being able to process and store all the fruit and veg for winter.
If you have enjoyed this article, check out some of my other articles and come back each month for the jobs for that month. If you got value please consider subscribing to my blog to be notified each time I release new content like this. You can do that easily and free by completing the blog signup form in the right-hand sidebar
Tony