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Friday, 2 August 2013

The Vegetable Plot – August


It’s time to clear out spent cucumbers, especially if you have some growing in frames, You can sow winter spinach in a sheltered place. Prune summer-fruiting raspberries, cutting the canes that have fruited down to ground level. Train young canes in their place.

Earth up maincrop celery and lift spring-sown onions. You can sow onion seeds now in a fairly sheltered space. Logan berries and tayberries can be tip-layered, that is, bury the tip of a shoot about 15cm under the soil, earth up around it and you should have it rooting by spring.


Broccoli needs plenty of water as the heads form, as do ridge cucumbers, tomatoes and marrows in the hot weather. Harvest and ripen garlic. Stop runner beans and harvest shallots.

  • Sow cauliflower, corn salad, endive, land cress, radishes, red cabbage, spinach, turnips
  • Sow fast growing lettuces such as ‘Little Gem’ and ‘Tom Thumb’
  • Grow Chinese cabbage and Chinese Kale for autumn salads and stir-fries
  • Collect herbs for drying
  • Dig up early potatoes and dry for next year’s seeding
  • Start harvesting shallots
  • Protect fruit from birds and wasps, earwigs, snails and slugs

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