In Your Garden Now
July is still a busy month as there is a lot of watering and dead-heading to be carried out, but make sure you take time to relax and enjoy all the hard work you've put in to achieve such a beautiful display!
Why not share your gardening successes with us by emailing or posting your favourite picture/s and who knows you could very well be a winner receiving a £25 Dobies Gift Voucher. We can’t wait to see all your great pictures! Full details can be found in section headed Prize Winning Gardens.
Vegetables
- Check development of second early potatoes as it is nearly time for harvesting.
- Do not allow onions to go short of water as this will affect size of crop.
- Remove sides shoots of tomatoes, stop plants once 4-5 trusses have been produced.
- Feed tomatoes regularly with a high potash liquid fertiliser.
- Do not let tomatoes dry out as blossom end rot could develop.
- Continue to make sowings of carrot, lettuce, spinach and spring maturing cabbage.
- Regular pickings of runner beans, french beans and courgettes should be made as this will encourage further cropping.
- Winter vegetables and kale can be transplanted into their final positions.
- Shallots can be harvested when the foliage has died down, then dry before storing.
- Herbs such as sage and thyme can produce a lot of healthy fresh new shoots now so cuttings that are taken will root quickly.
- Beetroot and other crops can be harvested while they are young and tender.
- Pot grown sweet corn can be planted out and it is best to place the plants in blocks rather than rows spacing them out at about 45cm (18") apart each way.
Fruit
- Prune established plums and apricots.
- In the early part of this month pruning of gooseberries can be carried out if this wasn't done in June.
- New canes of blackberries and loganberries should be tied to supports.
- Pick when ripe strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, whitecurrants, blackcurrants, rhubarb, gooseberries and cherries that you have grown.
- Any surplus strawberry runners should be removed by cutting them close to the plants.
- Protect fruit bushes from birds by covering with netting but remember to check daily making sure no birds are trapped.
- The tips of figs can be pruned from any unwanted sideshoots below the fifth leaf or remove completely.
Flowers
- Remember to regularly water and feed cascading varieties such as million bells and petunia surfinia for that spectacular display.
- Dead-head bedding plants and roses to encourage further flowering.
- To protect roses against mildew, blackspot and rust problems give them a spray.
- Containers and baskets can dry out quickly during warm, sunny conditions so may need watering twice a day.
- Transplant seedlings of winter/spring flowering plants into seed trays or small pots.
- Sowings of biennials such as foxglove, sweet william, canterbury bells and forget-me-nots can be made for planting out in autumn.
- Cuttings of lavender and salvia can be taken for potting up.
- Sweet Peas, pansies and nasturtiums should be deadheaded regularly to keep them flowering and not go to seed.
- To encourage clematis flowers it is best grown up a support such as trellis.
- By applying liquid feed this will keep leaves healthy and the colour flowing.
Bulbs
- To produce a greater number of flowers on dahlias that are growing well, the first bloom should be cut with a very short stem but avoid cutting into the flower buds below.
- For larger dahlia flowers, remove the flower bud shoots (this is disbudding) below main leading flower bud, this will strengthen stem leading to the flower size noticeably increasing.
- Still time in early July to pinch out shoot tips on chrysanthemums which will encourage shoots to branch out and carry more blooms.
Lawns
- If possible, it is best to mow lawns at least once a week keeping edges neat.
- Grass that is allowed to grow more than 10cm (4") is more likely to have weeds.
- Feed lawns if this hasn't already been carried out.
- Weeds and moss should be treated.
- When weedkiller has been applied do not empty first few mowing clippings to compost heap.
- By using an automatic water timer, fitted to a tap, lawns can be watered at night - if water regulations aren't in operation.
- Having problems with moles ruining your lawn, why not use a natural solution such as Anti-Mole Bulbs.
The Greenhouse
- Potted plants are more likely to require daily watering during warmer weather.
- For added colour and scent to the greenhouse during winter sow stocks and mignonette thinly in 7.5cm (3") pots.
- Crops grown in growing bags shouldn't be allowed to go short of water, by placing them on gravel trays may assist.
- Doors and ventilators should be opened each morning but closed again in the early evening if it is cool.
- Whitefly and red spider mite can be a problem at this time of year so keep a check and, if necessary, a biological control should be used.
- Once roots of root cuttings have filled the pots of plants such as fuchsias pot on.
Ponds
- Water levels should be topped up during hot spells which will ensure the health of plants and fish, and prevents damage to the pond liner.
- Blanketweed should continue to be removed as it appears.
- Flowering aquatic plants should be deadheaded so that they do not set seed, also tidy up any plants that may get out of hand.
- Clean pumps and filters to remove weeds and any other debris that may have accumulated.