July

In The Vegetable Garden This July

July is a busy and rewarding time in the vegetable garden. Here’s a list of top tips to keep your garden productive and healthy this month: 

 

🌿 Sowing and Planting 

Sow now for late crops: 

  • Lettuce, rocket, spinach (bolt-resistant varieties) 
  • Spring onions, radishes 
  • French beans (early July) 
  • Turnips, beetroot (quick-maturing types) 
  • Pak choi and Chinese cabbage (towards the end of July for autumn harvest) 
  • Succession sowing: Keep sowing salad crops every 2–3 weeks for a continuous supply. 
  • Plant out winter brassicas: If you haven’t yet, plant kale, purple sprouting broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Protect from cabbage white butterflies. 

 

🌞 General Care 

  • Water consistently: Especially during dry spells—early morning or evening is best. 
  • Mulch: Helps retain moisture and suppress weeds. 
  • Weed regularly: Don’t let weeds outcompete your crops for water and nutrients. 

 

🐛 Pest and Disease Watch 

  • Net brassicas: Protect from pigeons and cabbage white butterflies. 
  • Watch for aphids, whitefly, and red spider mites: Use soapy water sprays or organic treatments. 
  • Slugs and snails: Keep traps and barriers in place. 

 

🌱 Harvesting 

Keep picking crops like: 

  • Courgettes (before they become marrows) 
  • Peas and beans (encourages more pods) 
  • Salad leaves, radishes, beetroot, early potatoes 

 

🌼 Other Jobs 

  • Pinch out tomato sideshoots (for cordon types) 
  • Feed plants weekly: Use a high-potash feed for tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers. 
  • Support tall crops: Beans, peas, and tomatoes may need extra support. 
  • Thin fruit on apple trees: If overloaded, remove some to improve quality and reduce stress. 

 

This Month's Key Tips
  • Water plants if dry daily, but be water-wise.
  • Deadhead bedding plants and flowering perennials.
  • Clear algae, blanket weed and debris from ponds.
  • Give the lawn a quick-acting summer feed.
  • Plant second cropping potatoes now to give you new potatoes for Christmas.