Page 48 - SV 3 2024

Onions harvested early July
Keep removing the side shoots from tomatoes growing on the cordon system. Also, when the flowers set and fruits begin to form you need to start feeding them once a week. Use a liquid feed that is formulated for tomatoes because they contain a high proportion of potash.
Plants that have been planted two or three months ago should be growing well and would benefit from a feed. Granular feeds are best raked into the ground before planting but at this time of year liquid feeds are better because the are quicker acting. To summarise plant foods very briefly
there are three major plant foods, nitrogen (N) mainly for leaf growth, phosphate (P) mainly for root growth, and potash (K)
for flowering and fruiting. Most plants are happy with what are called general or balanced fertilisers which contain all of these in equal proportions. Leafy plants like cabbages benefit from one containing more nitrogen, and when plants are coming into flower, like tomatoes that I
have just mentioned, more potash. When you buy these fertilisers, the proportion of N, P, K should be on the label.
We need to keep looking out for pests and diseases and take appropriate action. This is the month when potato blight usually arrives. I advised you last month to spray them in an attempt to prevent it but if you didn’t do so, or in spite of spraying you get the tell-tale brown patches on the leaves, it has arrived. Once you have it, there is no cure. You need to cut down all the foliage (haulms) to prevent the spores washing down into the soil and affecting the tubers. Put all the haulms into the council re-cycling bin, not on the compost. When the haulms have been removed, the potatoes will not grow any more so you may as well dig them up before they get infected.
Pests like greenfly and blackfly will be increasing if you allow them to. I have said before that if you catch them early, when there aren’t many, you can squash them
Lettuce Little Gem
but if there are too many, you will have to resort to spraying. One way of controlling blackfly on broad beans is to pinch out the tops of the plants because they like the soft growth at the top.
Some fruit trees need pruning now. Plums and cherries should not be pruned in winter, so they are best done now. Just cut out any damaged or crossing branches. Cordon apples can be pruned if you live
in the South but further North, not till August. Cut side shoots back to the third leaf and laterals to the first leaf. Summer fruiting raspberries can be pruned when you have picked the fruit. Cut down the canes that have fruited and tie the others to wires. With red and white currants and gooseberries cut down the side shoots to 4 or 5 leaves from the base.
Last month I mentioned pinching out the tops of chrysanth and dahlia plants to make them produce side shoots (laterals) which will carry the blooms. If you want large blooms, you must reduce the number of these laterals. Exhibitors of Chrysanths reduce them to two or three per plant. If you are not particular about the size of the flowers you can leave as many on as you wish.
Another job you need to keep on top of is deadheading all your flowers and why not cut some flowers to put in the house?
48 Simply Vegetables