Our next event is the summer show on Saturday, the 19th of July in the village hall opening at 2 pm. Please come and support us and see the exhibits and enjoy a delicious tea. Better still why not enter. Schedules are available from committee members and The Five Bells. Also at the summer show we will be judging the children’s potatoes in buckets competition.
We are now in July and the longest day has passed. The vegetable plot is in full production. Autumn sown onions, garlic and shallots will be ready to harvest. With a hand fork gently loosen the base of the plant and gradually over a week or so lift it from the soil. Dry well in the open if no rain or undercover but be careful they don’t get too hot and start to cook!
Lift early potatoes and then fork over the ground; firm it down and then plant baby leeks using a dibber.
Runner beans will be climbing up their poles but must be well watered. When the top of the pole is reached remove the growing tip to encourage side shoots and more cropping.
Dwarf French beans may need a little support to raise the crop off the ground and away from the slugs.
Beetroot and salad crops will be ready to harvest and it’s not too late to make another sowing for a later crop.
Regularly check brassicas for caterpillars and squash any you find.
Courgettes will be beginning to crop and check daily to harvest them before they reach six inches as once the seeds start to set the plant will stop producing. Always water at the base and try to keep the leaves dry to avoid mildew.
When summer fruiting raspberries have finished cut the fruiting cane off at ground level and start to tie in new growth.
As strawberries stop fruiting and produce runners it is a good opportunity to raise fresh plants. Plants in their first year should be left in peace and their runners removed and discarded. Choose runners from the healthiest and most productive plants and limit it to 4 to 6 per plant. I use biodegradable pots filled with fresh compost and sink them into the ground and then press in the plantlet and cut off any further plantlets. When established it can be cut free from the parent plant.
Black , red , pink and white currants will be ready. It is worth remembering that there is a fundamental difference between black currants and the rest. Black currants fruit on one year old wood so once the shoot has fruited it should be removed and new shoots allowed to take its place. Red , pink and white currants are really all the same; white being an albino and pink a cross between the two. They crop on old wood so pruning consists of just keeping an open and manageable plant.
In the greenhouse stop tomatoes when they have formed six trusses or reached the roof! Remove the growing point one leaf above the highest truss.
Red spider mite and aphids can be a danger in the greenhouse. I inspect the leaves of cucumbers and aubergine daily being sure to look on the under side. Squash greenfly and a fine mist spray may deter red spider mite or use a biological control.
Apple trees will continue to drop fruit but may require further thinning.
Once plums cherries and apricots have fruited it is a good time to prune to ensure an open and manageable tree.
Remember to keep watering and let’s hope we don’t have a hosepipe ban.
Please remember our next show.
Good Gardening
Peter Estcourt