Page 17 - ALG Issue 2 2018 html

GENERAL
Midsummer is a time when the allotment begins to reward us with an ever-increasing range and quantity of produce. July can be a very hot month so take care to apply the sun block, wear a wide brimmed hat, and drink plenty of fluids when
working outdoors. Early morning up until midday and after three o’clock are recommended as the most comfortable times of the day. The sun is at its strongest for a couple of hours after one o’clock. Water in the morning or evening but don’t water plants during the heat of the day when they are under stress. Hoe between rows
and plants at every opportunity to conserve moisture and control weeds. If you have any well-rotted organic material to spare, use it as mulch between rows and over the root area of bigger plants such as brassicas.
OUTSIDE
Sow – Dwarf French beans, beetroot, spring cabbage, collards, carrots, chicory, Chinese cabbage, endive, kohlrabi, winter lettuce, spring onions, peas, radish, Swiss chard, perpetual spinach, turnips. Adjust sowing times to your
region. Sow in the first half of the month if you garden north of
the River Trent and late July if you are south of the Trent. Carry on thinning out rows of vegetables. Either use the thinnings or put them on the compost heap. Inspect potato haulms for signs of blight. Net brassicas against cabbage white butterfly. Pinch out tips of runner beans when they reach the top of their supports.
Plant - Sprouting broccoli, cabbage (summer, autumn, winter), Calabrese, kale, leeks.
Fruit - ‘June drop’ will have finished by now. Thin out over cropping plums, reduce apples to 1 fruit per spur, pears are self-
GENERAL
August is the month where one door closes and another one opens as summer gently moves toward autumn. The first half of the month
can produce very hot days, but the nights are becoming noticeably cooler; the threat of a light
frost is a strong possibility by the end of the month. Gradually shortening days begin to slow down growth and the main harvesting period moves into full swing. Make sure that you are organised to start harvesting potatoes, onions, gluts of beans, peas, courgettes, summer squashes and pumpkins, clearing soft fruit trees and bushes of fruit. Hoe between rows and plants at every opportunity. Pinch out growing tips of trailing winter pumpkins and squashes. Time to start a new compost heap.
OUTSIDE
Sow – Spring cabbage, oriental vegetables including mooli radish, winter lettuce, spring onions, Japanese and hardy overwintering onions, summer and winter radish, perpetual spinach, Swiss chard, winter spinach, turnips (catch crop
grown for tops), parsley under glass to provide winter supply. Thin earlier sowings. Start to draw soil up around the bases of brassicas to help support them against strong winter winds. Stake Brussels sprouts and tall growing kale and broccoli.
Plant - Sprouting broccoli, winter cabbage including Savoys, kale, leeks.
Fruit - Complete summer pruning of currant bushes. Cut down summer fruited raspberry canes down to soil levels. Tie in strong
thinning. Time to prune and feed formal fruit trees and bushes. Inspect plum trees for sign of
silver leaf, removing any infected branches. Last month to peg down strawberry runners for increasing stock; cut away all unwanted runners.
GREENHOUSE
Stake, continue
removing
sideshoots, stop
plant by pinching out growing tip after the fourth truss has set. This will give the developing fruits
enough time to ripen before the end of summer. Pick all ripe
fruits. Tie in climbing cucumbers and top dress roots with potting compost to increase root growth. Feed and harvest aubergines, peppers and cucumbers. Damp down greenhouse daily during hot weather to create a buoyant atmosphere.
HARVEST
Beans, peas, early potatoes, globe artichokes, beetroot, carrots, overwintered onions. Lift and store garlic and shallots. Start drying herbs for storing.
PESTS & DISEASES
Aphids on all crops. Caterpillars hatching. Pea moth. Slugs. Potato blight, which can attack tomatoes as well.
AUGUST
healthy canes for next summer. Cut strawberry runners on young rooted plants and transplant them into new beds. Start to harvest the first of the early apples.
GREENHOUSE
Stop tomatoes at fourth truss if not already done. Inspect plants for signs of potato blight. Strip leaves off tomato plants to prevent blight and mildew attack. Stop damping down - use ventilation to
dry out moisture in the atmosphere. Harvest all aubergine, pepper, cucumber and cucumber fruits regularly.
HARVEST
Lift onion crop when 40% of their leaves have turned a straw colour. It is important to carry out this job in dry weather. Bring the onions into the greenhouse to complete the drying of the skins. Carry on lifting first and second early potatoes
to use immediately. Second earlies can be put into short-term storage. Remove all haulms from plants to reduce blight attack. Runner and French beans, sweetcorn, courgettes, cucumbers, summer squashes, marrows, globe artichokes, carrots, beetroot, summer kale, turnips.
PESTS & DISEASES
Potato blight. Powdery and downy mildew. Aphids on all crops. Whitefly. Slugs.
JULY
Regular
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