by Justine Hutchinson
August is here and with it a heat wave!
Well, we thought summer might not arrive at all this year, but here we are on an appropriately baking day at the start of August. Everything crossed the lovely weather continues for a few weeks yet! In the meantime, here are a few gardening tips for the month ahead…
Seed Sowing and Growing
It’s time to direct sow winter radishes (and spring cabbages and swedes, too). Like the red summer varieties, winter radishes can be succession sown for cropping from autumn to mid-winter, especially if covered with a protective straw mulch just before the frosts arrive. One winter radish I particularly like is an heirloom variety called ‘Black Spanish Round’ which has been cultivated since the 16th century. It grows to a beetroot-sized ball and has black skin and pure white flesh. With a fiery flavour, it can be eaten raw in salads, shredded into coleslaws and kimchi, or cubed and tossed into stews and soups for a milder flavour once cooked. ‘Red Flesh’ is another variety which has a much gentler taste overall (plus very attractive red-purple centre) if that’s what you prefer.
In the first couple of weeks of August, get in your final sowings of spinach, chard and beetroot.
Towards month’s end, start switching out your summer salad sowings for winter lettuce. ‘Winter Marvel’ and lamb’s lettuce will do well outdoors far into autumn – and will go right through even the coldest months if sown later in the year in an unheated poly-tunnel.
Plant cold-stored potato tubers in large bags or tubs and place in a greenhouse or other cool, sheltered area for Christmas harvesting.
It’s your last chance to sow biennials (flowers that have a two year cycle) ready for next year’s cutting patch. Next season’s hardy annuals can be direct sown now, too. Annual varieties which should require no winter protection in the milder south of the country include ammi majus, consolida, centaurea cyanus, and calendula officinalis (we’re currently loving the on-trend ‘Orange Flash’ calendula, which is actually more buff/apricot than bright orange!) However, in the cooler north or if a harsh cold snap is forecast anywhere else, your annual/biennial sowings may need to be protected with winter fleece or cloches.
Where plants have started forming seed pods in your garden (sweet peas, nasturtiums and nigella, for example), wait for them to cure on the plant then collect on a dry day for storing in labelled and dated envelopes, ready for germinating next year.
Pruning
Cut back any tired-looking herbs for a final, late-summer crop.
Cut back your leaf fennel, too. Fennel can provide lovely, textural foliage, height and movement at the back of herbaceous borders, but if left to self-seed it can become a bit of a thug! Likewise, snip off the seed heads of anything else you don’t want spreading about.
Continue pinching out the side shoots of your cordon tomatoes.
Once your wisteria has completed its second flush of flowering, prune back any whippy side shoots to around 5 or 6 leaf buds from the main stem to maintain an overall framework.
Pinch out side shoots of your cordon tomatoes now, too.
Trim back spent lavender heads to maintain the shrub’s shape.
Prune back your pleached fruit trees to 4 leaves on the new shoots. Check for any rotting fruit at the same time and remove to prevent disease spreading.
Cut back leaves on grape vines to expose the fruit to the sun for ripening.
Other Jobs
Stake in taller, late-summer-flowering perennials such as aster/symphyotrichum, lilies and gladioli.
Continue feeding your tomatoes and other fruiting veg, plus hungry perennials such as dahlias. It’s also worth giving bedding plants in containers and baskets a final feed now, too, to keep them going into the autumn.
Plant out any biennials you may have sown earlier in the summer to give their roots a chance to establish in the warmer soil before winter sets in.
Make sure your late-summer fruit shrubs and trees are protected from the naughty pigeons with netting. Do keep the netting well clear of the fruit.
Keep an eye out for pesky earwigs on your dahlias. Spray the plants with neem oil as a preventative, or do as the New Zealanders do: drop and leave a few pruned dahlia heads at the base of your plants. Earwigs are lazy blighters and will snack on those blooms rather climb all the way up to any newer flowers you want to pick for yourself.
Speaking of, pick, pick and pick again all your fruiting veg – squash, beans, tomatoes et al – plus flowers in your cutting patch and garden. The more you pick, the more they’ll produce! And continue to water, water, water your veg and plus all newly planted plants, in particular.
And a final tip for those languid, long summer days in the garden… Make floral ice cubs. Pop nasturtium, calendula, viola and borage petals into your ice cube trays, top with water and freeze. These cubes make a very pretty addition to a gin and tonic to be sure!
Have fun in the garden, Everyone!
