Gardening, Grow Your Own, Planting, Vegetables

August Allotment Jobs

August is a month of transition, it is the midpoint between summer and autumn, the days get noticeably shorter and leaves will start to drop. This is a month of change in the allotment too where most of your work will be prep for winter and next years planting.

Harvesting

Aubergine
Curly kale
Beetroot
Cabbages
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celery
Courgettes and marrows
Cucumber
French beans
Globe Artichoke
Kohl Rabi
Onion
Pepper
Potato
Radish
Runner beans
Salad leaves and lettuces
Spinach
Spring Onion
Swede
Sweetcorn
Swiss chard
Tomato
Turnip

Sowing

Carrots
Cauliflower
Chickory
Endives
Japanese onions
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
lettuces
Spinach
Spring cabbage
Spring onions
Sprouting Broccoli
Swiss chard
Turnips
Winter radish

Planting

Cauliflower
Leeks
Marrow
Overwintering cabbages
Pumpkin
Squashes

General Jobs

If you’re growing aubergines pinch out the growing tip once they have 5 or 6 fruits
Cut back herbs to encourage a new flush of leaves that you can harvest before the frost
Continue to feed tomato plants with a tomato fertiliser
Lift and dry onions, shallots and garlic
Keep birds and squirrels off your berries with netting
Tidy up strawberry plants

Pests and Diseases

Aphids – spraying your brassicas with diluted washing up liquid will deter them from landing on your crops. You can buy insecticides if you prefer, including a fatty acid soap to spray on the plants.

Carrot fly – a particular problem between May and September when female flies lay their eggs the best defence to cover plants with horticultural fleece or place two-foot-high barriers around the plants.

Cabbage root fly– attacking the roots of brassicas, these flies can cause a lot of damage to your plants. Female flies lay the eggs on the surface of the soil next to the stem of the plant. Place a piece of carpet (or cardboard or fleece) around the base of the plant to create a collar, this will stop the flies from laying their eggs on the soil.

Gardening, Gardening Year, Gardens, Plants, Wildlife

August Gardening Jobs

August is usually the hottest month of the year, so your main focus should be keeping your garden watered and your pond and water features topped up. There is also some prep work to do for the arrival of .autumn, and you should continue some of your maintenance from last month.

General

Top up birdbaths, ponds and water features – June is one of the hottest months of the year so you need to check your birdbaths and ponds regularly to make sure they don’t go dry.

Keep the garden watered – your garden is going to dry out quickly in the heat this month, keep everything evenly watered to stop your garden going yellow and wilting.

Keep on top of Algae growth – strong sunlight creates the perfect environment for algae growth in ponds or water features. Remove it as you see it in ponds, and add wildlife-friendly weed control into water features.

Trim conifers and other garden hedges – this is the time of year when growth can get a bit out of control, so now is the best time to trim in order to keep an even shape. Just make sure that you check the hedge for birds nests first.

Think about which plants you would like for next spring – it might seem a bit early, but now is the time to get thinking about next year, and if you want to be ready for autumn planting it’s best to start ordering now.

Plants

Tidy up fallen leaves and flowers to discourage disease.
Mow wildflower meadows to help scatter the seeds.
Cut back faded perennials to keep borders tidy.
Keep on top of weeds
Prune all summer flowering shrubs
Prune climbing roses and rambling roses once they’ve finished flowering

Wildlife

Put out food for hedgehogs – hoglets should be emerging from their birth nests this month so to give them a helping hand as they start to explore the world you can leave out water and meat-based dog or cat food (ideally chicken) on a plate or in a hedgehog feeder.

Plant low growing plants around ponds – this is the time of year where baby frogs should be emerging from ponds, and you can help them hide from predators or shelter from the sun by planting low growing plants or allowing the lawn to grow near the edge of your pond.

Sow wildlife-friendly biennials – planting flowers like foxgloves, forget-me-nots and hollyhock is a great way to attract pollinators to your garden. By sowing now you are ensuring a source of food that’ll last longer into the year, giving them a better chance to survive the winter.

Gardening, Gary, Grow Your Own, How To, Plants, Watering

Guide to Garden Irrigation

Most of your plants need regular watering to survive, and the hotter it gets the more water they need. Watering big gardens and allotments can become a chore that takes time away from your other garden maintenance. Irrigation has been used to water large areas since the ancient Egyptians dug channels through their fields to divert river water. Luckily, you have a few more options available to you beyond diverting rivers.

Irrigation types

Irrigation works by supplying controlled amounts of water to your plants at set times, and there are a lot of ways you can do this. The method that is right for you will depend on how much sun your garden gets and if your plants have similar or different watering requirements

Sprinklers

Easy to install and simple to maintain, the sprinkler system replicates rainfall by supplying water from above the plant. This is an easy way to water a large garden and if you get a simple lawn sprinkler can be one of the cheapest. There are advantages and disadvantages to a sprinkler system, and its usefulness will depend on your need:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Covers a large area	Can cause overwatering
Can be automated	Prone to disruption from wind
Can be used anywhere	Some systems can be expensive to install
Low maintenance	Not the best system if you have different watering requirements

Soaker hose

These hoses are made of porous materials and release small amounts of water directly into the soil. More often used in vegetable patches and under hedges, this method of above-ground irrigation might be the best option for you if you want to conserve water.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Conserves water	Requires regular maintenance
Conserves soil	Time-consuming initial installation
Can be automated	Low output
Waters soil directly	Limited coverage

Drip Line Irrigation

Drip line irrigation is similar to a soaker hose but allows you more control over how much certain parts of your garden get watered. These systems can be placed at ground level or put over your plants if a more advanced line and nozzle system are used making it a good irrigation system for hanging baskets.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Conserves water	Time-consuming set up
Adjustable output	Can be prone to clogging
Long lifespan	Slower than other systems
Can be automated	More advanced systems can have a big setup cost

Self-watering containers

These specialized containers are a great solution to keeping your plants watered if you are away for a short trip. These pots have an upper pot that holds the soil and plant, while a lower reservoir holds the water and feeds it to the soil. Usually, these pots hold enough water for a few days, depending on the weather and evaporation rate – all you need to do is refill the reservoir.

Tree bags

Trees and shrubs need slow, deep watering to become established. Tree watering bags are put around the base of the tree and filled with water where they will slowly release it into the soil surrounding the rootball. They are an inexpensive and water-saving way of establishing

Automate your system

If you are going on holiday, are away a lot or want to spend time on other gardening jobs then automating your watering is one of the best things you can do. Setting up a basic automated system is simple and can be done in a few steps, all you need is a timer that attaches to your outdoor tap – this can be mains or solar-powered.

Make sure your hose pipes and sprinklers are set up so you have total coverage of your garden
Attach your timer or regulator to your water source and set the times
Connect everything together with
Do a test run
Enjoy

Once you have the right irrigation set up you will find yourself with much more time to enjoy your garden and get the rest of your jobs done, making this a must-do job for the serious gardener.

Allotment, Gardening, Grow Your Own, Organic, Planting, Vegetables

July Allotment jobs

July is the first month of the year where you get a really bountiful harvest. Loads of fruit and veg are ready to harvest this month, and there’s even more ready to be planted. Here is our at a glance guide to your allotment this month.

Harvesting

Aubergines
Beetroot
Broad beans
Broccoli
Carrots
Chillies and peppers
Courgettes
Florence fennel
French beans
Garlic
Globe artichokes
Kohl rabi
Leaf beet
Marrows
Onions
Oriental mustards
Peas

Potatoes
Rhubarb
Runner beans
Shallots
Spinach
Turnips
Celery
Chicory
Cucumbers
Lettuces
Radishes
Rocket
Salad leaves
Spring onions

Sowing

Peas
Cabbage
Fennel
Kohlrabi
Last Beetroot

Planting

Spinach
Leeks
Kale
Cauliflower
Sprouting Broccoli
Endives
Chickory
Spring onions

General Jobs

Weed regularly
Mulch to conserve moisture
Feed tomatoes and peppers
Net against birds
Pinch out tomato shoots

Pests and Diseases

Carrot fly – a particular problem between May and September when female flies lay their eggs the best defence to cover plants with horticultural fleece or place two-foot high barriers around the plants.