Essential Gardening Tasks For July 2014

With the days long and the sun beating down on your garden, now is the perfect time to really enjoy the fruits of your labour. Nevertheless, there are still a few more important tasks that you’ll need to plough on with during the month of July. For the most part, they’re extremely less arduous and much more pleasurable than those early season workouts, yet they still need to be completed in order achieve that perfect garden. 

Rather fortunately, you’ll already be doing a lot of these tasks subconsciously, but it’s always great to be reminded what’s best for your garden during peak summer . . .

 

Water

To sustain perfect plant life, regular watering during the year’s hottest month is fundamental. The trick is knowing how much and how often.

• Bedding plants should be watered, at length, only once or twice a week, partly to allow the plants to grow deeper roots and seek an alternative water source. It may seem a little risky, but you should certainly water all containers and hanging baskets at least once a day.

• If water restrictions are in place, use a hand-held reel hose rather than a sprinkler for better water consumption. It may be worth adding some mulch or bark around shrubs to also help improve your water saving measures.

 

Cut Back & Hoe

• Some of those early season planters may have already seen better days, so cut them back with a pair of secateurs to maintain their appearance and to allow any late-season bloomers to take centre stage.

• Remember to hoe your flower beds as often as you can during July, not only will it kill weeds, but it’ll also break up the top layer of soil so water is not simply evaporated before it reaches the roots.

 

Lawn Care

• With high pressure in place, your lawn may turn from lush green to murky brown, however, don’t panic, it’ll soon recover when the rain reappears. In the meantime, there’s no harm in feeding the lawn regularly with a multi-purpose feed and weed.

• When mowing, raise the blades on your lawn mower to help retain moisture and keep grass greener.

 

Fruit & Veg

During July, you can literally reap what you sow, as most fruit and veg will have peaked and be ready for harvest.

• If the birds have left you any, and as they become slightly softer, all berry varieties will be good for picking. Only harvest raspberries when they  pull away easily – this applies for apples too.

• Once their lower leaves have begun to wilt and turn yellow, your onions, garlic and shallots should be good to go. Oh, and it’s best to keep an eye on those runner beans too. Once they reach 20cm in length, then it’ll be time to harvest.

• There’s ample opportunity to sow during July and Royal Paddock Allotments have already supplied a comprehensive guide. It’s probably going to be your final chance to plant new seeds before the winter frost creeps in, but for any existing ‘dud’ ones, their nitrogen rich formula will be perfect for the compost heap.