Page 44 - Simply Vegetables Summer 2023

winter, but this month, cut back side shoots to 4 or 5 leaves from the base. With summer raspberries, wait until they have finished fruiting then cut down the canes that have fruited and tie the rest to the wires.
I must mention pests and diseases again because we need to keep our eyes open for them. Greenfly can attack a wide range of plants, blackfly have a liking for beans. One way of preventing them in broad beans is to pinch out the top of the plants because they usually go for the new growth at the top.
I mentioned spraying against potato blight last month. If, in spite of this, or if you haven’t sprayed them, you notice the tell- tale brown patches on the leaves it is best to cut down the foliage and dispose of it to prevent the spores washing down into the soil. Do not put the foliage on the compost though. Either burn it or put it in the council re-cycling bin. After the foliage has been cut down the potatoes will not grow any larger so you may as well dig them all up.
If you have no signs of blight, just dig up
a few at a time when you need them as I suggested last month.
Other vegetable crops you may have for harvesting this month, if sown or planted early enough are onions, shallots, salad crops and spring planted garlic. With garlic, wait until the foliage goes yellow. You
have probably been harvesting rhubarb since April, but it is best not to harvest any more after this month and let it die down naturally. The nutriment from the leaves
August
The main sowing season is over but many of the seeds mentioned the last two months can still be sown, particularly those for winter and spring use. I mentioned last month the varieties of cabbage, cauliflowers, and broccoli to sow at this time of year. I always sow these in pots, but they don’t need extra heat to germinate
The varieties of lettuce I suggest for sowing now are Vailan, Winter Gem (most suppliers ), Marvel of Four Seasons (Sh,
B), Arctic King (Sh), and Brighton (D). I prefer to sow these in cell trays. They can be grown in the greenhouse border but if you are planting them outside, I suggest you protect them with cloches. Endive and corn salad can be grown the same way. Varieties of endive are Natasha (D, S, ), and Pancalieri (R, Sh). Corn salad has varieties Large leaved (D, S,) and Vit (Sh, B.). Endive needs blanching about 3 months after sowing so If you sowed any earlier, you may have some ready for blanching. Just tie the leaves together and cover the plants with plastic pots, blocking the drainage hole to exclude light.
Radishes can also be sown and there are varieties for winter use they are better
Sweet peas cut regularly
and stems helps to feed the roots for next year. It would be helpful to give the plants a mulch as well.
In the fruit garden, you may have gooseberries, summer raspberries, and blackberries to harvest.
We are likely to get some hot weather this month so make sure you keep up with watering. Plants in pots like tomatoes may need watering every day. Do it either in the morning or evening if you can. If tomatoes go short of water, you are likely to get a disorder called blossom end rot. A black area appears at the bottom of the fruit. It is caused by the plant not being able to take up enough calcium , due to the shortage of water. Also, keep damping down the
Some of my harvest in July
staging and floor as I suggested last month. Tomatoes may be ready for their first feed this month. Feeding should begin when the first fruits are just visible and continue once a week throughout the season. Use a feed especially formulated for tomatoes because they have a high proportion of potash.
Also, if they are being grown on the cordon system, keep removing the side shoots and keep them tied to the cane.
Tying plants to their canes also applies to many plants growing outside as well because most should be growing strongly now, particularly annual flowers, gladioli, Chrysanths and dahlias. In the case of annuals, dead head them regularly as I suggested last month.
44 Simply Vegetables
Colourful annuals on allotment
sown direct in the beds in drills. Varieties for winter are Black Spanish (S, R, Sh, B, ), China Rose ( (Sh ) and Mantanghong (D )
Still on the subject of sowing, if you have some spare ground, you could sow some hardy annual flowers. They don’t need rich
soil so you may not need to add any extra fertiliser. Just rake the soil as fine as you can and sow either broadcast or in drills. Suitable types are cornflower, Californian poppies and Love in a Mist. All these are in most catalogues.