SERIES: Jobs in the Garden - July 2022

One of the nicest months to sit out in the garden, July brings long, warm days that continue late into the evening – perfect for pottering around in the garden, hosting barbeques and enjoying your blooms at their finest.

Top 10 jobs for this month:

- Deadhead your bedding plants and repeat-flowering perennials to keep your flowers looking their best and ensure continuous flowering. You can also deadhead your roses and sweet peas regularly too.

- Water your tomatoes daily to prevent drying out, which can lead to split fruits and blossom end rot. Make sure to feed tomatoes with dilute tomato fertiliser every week to encourage fruiting.

- Pick courgettes regularly so they don’t turn into marrows. Harvest apricots, peaches and nectarines. Pick runner beans regularly to prevent them becoming stringy and make room for developing pods.

- Clear any algae, blanket weeds and debris from ponds and keep them topped up.

- Pick summer-fruiting strawberry varieties. You can also raise new strawberries from the runners, just place a pot or compost near the plant, peg the runner into the pot, water well and leave for a few weeks until well rooted.

- Look after your lawn. This is the last chance to feed your lawn with a quick acting summer feed to encourage healthy green growth.

- Check for aphids on the underside of leaves – rub them off by hand or spray with insecticide to prevent them from multiplying.

- Look out for clematis wilt. Symptoms include wilting leaves and black discolouration on the leaves and stems. Cut out any affected material.

- In the greenhouse – check plants daily and water first thing in the morning or in the evening to reduce water loss through evaporation. Damp down the greenhouse on hot days and open vents and doors daily to provide adequate ventilation.

- Turn the content of your compost bin every month to keep it well aerated.