VEGETABLE CARE IN AUGUST 2007

GREEN MANURES
From August onwards you may well have unused ground in your veg plot or allotment. A great idea is to plant those areas with "green manures". At this time of year rye grasses or clover are ideal green manures. They can be dug into the soil in mid Spring next year before they flower. Green manures improve the food content of a soil and help to create a good soil structure. They also suppress weeds.

COURGETTES
Courgettes grow so quickly in August but don't let them get too big. Harvest when small and tasty. If allowed to get too big they loose their distinctive taste so harvest them when they are about 25cm (10in) long even if you don't need to use them. More will then grow in their place.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS
No special care required in August. Just do your best to keep them watered if the weather decides to get hot!
Click here for more information on Brussels Sprouts.

CARROTS
Continue to thin out any remaining seedlings, keep the weeds down and enjoy harvesting your carrots!
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

LETTUCE
Harvest and enjoy! Maybe make notes on which varieties did best so that you can choose them again next year.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

PEAS
Peas sown earlier in the year will be ready for harvesting.
Click here for more details of how and why.

FRENCH BEANS
French beans sown earlier in the year should be ready for harvesting.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

RADISHES
Now is the time to sow winter radish. At the same time you should be harvesting radish sown earlier in the year.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

TOMATOES
From mid August onwards stop feeding your tomatoes with a potassium rich fertiliser and feed them with a nitrogen rich fertiliser. Continue to tie tomato plants to their stakes as they grow. Water them if conditions become dry. Remove any side shoots as they appear (not bush varieties). 'Stop' non-bush varieties and thin tomato plants to 5 to 7 trusses.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

ONIONS
From mid-August onwards stop feeding your onions. Some onions, specially the onion sets, should be ready for harvest mid-August onwards. Japanese onions should be sown in late August, so choose the seeds now and prepare the ground for them. As far as Spring Onions are concerned, it's just harvest, harvest and harvest!
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

RUNNER BEANS
From mid-August runner beans should be ready for harvesting. In the meantime keep them free from weeds and water if a dry spell threatens.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

NEW AND MAINCROP POTATOES
Continue to remove any flowers in order to concentrate the growth in the potato tubers. Spray mainrop potatoes with a second dose of Bordeaux mixture mid month to help prevent attacks of blight.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

SWEET CORN
Mid August onwards is the time for harvesting sweet corn.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

BEETROOT
Beetroot should be ready for harvest in August - baby beetroot are the tastiest.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

BROCCOLI
Harvest them as they grow large enough. Water in August if the weather becomes dry.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

FRUIT AND HERB CARE IN AUGUST 2007

RASPBERRIES
August is still harvest month for summer fruiting raspberries. Towards the end of August summer fruiting raspberries will stop producing fruit. Cut those canes down to just above ground levelso that they will produce more fruit next year.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

STRAWBERRIES
August is also harvest month for strawberries. This is also the time to pot up any strawberry runners. Simply cut the runners from the main plant and either dig up and plant the new rooted strawberry plants into their new positions or put them in pots for planting later on.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

PLUMS
From mid August on, plums should be ripe enough to harvest. Keep an eye on the branches for ovrloading with fruit. If this looks like damaging the branches, either thin out the fruit more or provide supports for the branches.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

GOOSEBERRIES
Most gooseberries should be harvested by now, you may find a few more if you search hard!
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

BLACKBERRIES
August is blackberry month - harvest and enjoy them.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

MINT, PARSLEY, SAGE, DILL, CHIVES, ROSEMARY, BAY, MARJORAM/OREGANO, BASIL, THYME and TARRAGON
Harvest these herbs which are at their very best now.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.
 

GARDEN PLANT CARE IN AUGUST 2007

 This month the spotlight is on
HELLEBORES
You may have seen hellebores in gardens earlier this year. They are great plants and provide colour and texture when little else is around in the freezing cold. Well now is the time to buy small plants from your garden centre. If you want to grow hellebores from seed, they should be sown from July to mid-August. One problem with hellebore seed is that it must be fresh - see the link below for a nursery that does mail order hellebore seed which is always fresh.

Having bought one hellebore you will find that many of them self-seed very easily providing more plants for you and other gardeners. They require no special attention other than division every four or five years - they are a sure fire plant for the not so green-fingered gardener.

Another great advantage of hellebores is that they do very well in semi-shade and hate too much water - this makes them ideal for growing under a tree or shrub where other plants may well fail.
Click here for lots more information on hellebores.

This Month's Recipe

Spanish Tapas

Tapa literally means lid. Previously in Spain drinks were served with a lid on them, possibly to stop insects getting in the glass. In many bars they then started putting a small amount of food on the lid to eat whilst drinking.

This custom has now grown and the tapa is a small meal in itself. Patatas bravas is a typical Spanish tapa meaning "fierce potatoes". Basically they are fried potato cubes smothered in a spicy tomato sauce. The most popular of the Spanish tapas.

I promise you they are extra tasty when served with a cold beer or a glass of wine on a summer's day.
Click here for this delicious recipe.

 

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