Topical jobs in the garden this August (From Smallholder)

Topical jobs in the garden this August

3:10pm Sunday 29th July 2012 in Grow Your Own By Lee Senior

• Check all cabbage family plants for signs of caterpillars and remove by hand Keep all cabbage family members covered by fine mesh to stop the adult butterfly from laying eggs on the plants.
• Plant up new strawberry beds this month, detaching previously rooted runners from the parents if they are rooted in their own pots.
• Take semi-ripe heel cuttings of Rosemary in well-drained gritty compost Summer prune apple trees where required to prevent excess non fruiting growth. Cut back upward growing laterals to three buds.
• Outdoor grown tomatoes should be “stopped” now to allow time for the fruits to ripen. Any subsequent trusses will not have time to ripen.
• Avoid erratic watering of your tomatoes to reduce risk blossom end rot which is, exacerbated by dryness at the roots.
• Continue to hoe during dry weather.
• Watch out for early signs of potato blight. Cut away affected foliage immediately, leaving tubers in ground a little longer if required. Sow green manures in any spare ground. Mustard or Red Clover are examples. Chop them up before they flower.
• Harvest onions as the tops start to yellow. Peel off the outer leaves and dry them out in the sun on a rack for several days before storing.