Gardening Tips for July

Keep a close eye on the compost heap or start a new one. Grass clippings and kitchen scraps are obvious additions and we should all do our bit for recycling. Don’t forget to add fibrous vegetative material to the heap, maintain moisture and turn the contents regularly.

Making late sowings of carrots? We are running into ‘carrot fly’ time when the flies lay their eggs around the emerging carrots. The larvae emerge and feed on the young carrot roots producing characteristic ‘tunnelled’ fruit. The solution? Cover your sowings with horticultural fleece to prevent entry of the flies, or try a resistant carrot variety like Maestro or Resistafly.

Maybe you sowed too many herbs and have an abundance of leaves? Dry and freeze them for winter use. It’s easy!

A good gardener thinks ahead, so you may want to think about ordering some perennial plants and bulbs for autumn flowering.

Remember the sound advice to water in the evenings. That way you will lose less of a valuable asset by preventing evaporation during the day and getting the moisture to plant roots where it is required.

A final thought. You need to keep cutting those sweet peas so the plants produce more flowers through the summer but maybe you are becoming swamped with blooms indoors? Why not take a bunch or two rounds to your neighbours and continue that Covid community spirit!