Here head gardener Benjamin Pope and gardener cook Aaron Bertelsen explain the key jobs to get done in the kitchen and flower gardens this month.
Gardening jobs for July
For the last couple of years I have enjoyed fresh peas well into the autumn. How? By making a second sowing in July. As the first lot of plants go over, pull them out, making sure to leave the pea sticks in place. Sow your second crop direct, leaving about 10cm between each pea, and water in well.
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For years I dismissed curly leaved parsley as useful only for fiddly garnishes. How wrong I was. This herb overwinters well for us and the flavour grows more pronounced with the cold. Sow now to ensure a plentiful supply for those winter salads. Aaron Bertelsen
This is also the perfect time for sowing peppery salad leaves such as rocket, mizuna and mustard greens. This way you will avoid attack by flea beetle and ensure a good crop going into the colder months. AB
Prune your trained fruit
Fennel sown now is less likely to bolt and will be ready to crop in autumn and early winter. This is the perfect timing for pruning trained fruit. With summer pruning, the aim is to reduce new growth, in order to keep the tree in shape to let in light and sunshine so the fruit can ripen. As a general guide, remove all upright growth, and cut back any new growth that is longer than 20cm to five leaves. As in winter, take the opportunity to remove any diseased wood or growth that is crossing over or close together that may end up rubbing. AB
Feed your maincrop potatoes
Maincrop potatoes will need feeding. They are hungry creatures and will not crop well for you if they run out of food. I use liquid tomato feed. Crops in pots will need regular watering – that means every day for the more delicate things like salad leaves. Don’t forget to feed them too. A weekly dose of liquid seaweed will work wonders. Make sure you are watering the soil, not the leaves, unless you are particularly fond of the taste of seaweed. AB
Water!
Watering is never more important than now. Heat and dry soil can cause crops to run to seed so water thoroughly to keep plants from becoming stressed. You will be glad of any hard work you did in winter to incorporate organic matter: healthy soil with a good structure is much better at holding moisture. AB
Feed your crops
Feed crops in pots once a week. By now any food that was in your compost or potting soil will be used up, and the plants will be relying on you for their nutrients. I like to use liquid seaweed or tomato food.
Keep picking soft fruit to encourage plants to produce more. I like to give them a boost with a sprinkling
of pellets made from organic sheep manure. Water well after application to encourage plants to put on the growth that will form next year’s fruiting wood. AB
Prune your gooseberries
Give gooseberries a summer prune. Cut the new growth back to five buds from the base of the branch. This will help to stop the plants getting congested, and keep the air circulating through them.
Keep track of fungal diseases
Now is prime time for fungal diseases. Think hard before reaching for the fungicide, though. In killing off the ‘bad’ fungus, you also risk killing off the good: the multiplicity of tiny organisms that contribute so much to the health of our soils. I prefer to focus on keeping my plants as healthy as possible, and on maintaining good hygiene and air circulation through regular picking, weeding and pruning. AB
Jobs in the flower garden
Summer prune wisteria
Tame these vigorous climbers by lightly trimming the long tendrils and foliage of current season’s growth to tidy the appearance and neaten the habit. Benjamin Pope
Deadhead spent flowers
Continue to deadhead roses and annuals, such as cosmos and sweet peas, cutting back old flower stems to a strong bud or stem to improve the appearance and promote continuation of flowering. BP
Clean insides of greenhouses, cold frames and polytunnels
With most plants growing happily outside, now is a great time to clean and tidy the inside of your growing structures. Wash internal glazing and membranes, while cleaning and preserving timber and metal staging. BP
List seeds for collection
As flowers begin to produce seeds, get organised and list what seed you’d like to keep, as well as gathering paper bags and envelopes so you can safely collect and store seed ready for sowing next year. BP
Visit garden shows and festivals
With the growing season well underway, it’s a great time of year to visit other gardens and shows to gain ideas, inspiration and the odd new plant, leaving you buzzing with enthusiasm for your own garden. BP
Head to our list of the best gardening events to visit this summer
What to do with your garden crops in July
First and second early potato cropping should be in full swing now. The main challenge is to get all the potatoes out without accidentally sticking a fork or spade through them – particularly challenging in our heavy clay soil. Any tubers that are left in the soil will pop up as weeds next summer, and could also spread blight. I am increasingly growing my potatoes in bags. It makes them very easy to earth up, and harvesting takes minutes. If space permits, try growing them in a one-tonne bag – the type you get with a bulk delivery of compost or bark. AB
July is also the month of plenty when it comes to soft fruit. I am not a huge fan of freezing food – it is so easy to forget what you have in there, and over time food will lose some of its goodness and flavour. But used wisely, it is a very helpful resource in times of glut. I stash some bags of fruit in the freezer ready to make jam in the autumn when things in the garden are quieter. But one thing I do always make time for is a fruit vodka – best made with fruit that is absolutely at its peak of freshness and flavour. AB
