Jobs for July

Whilst there is still plenty of cloudy, dull weather here in Nottingham, we’re heading into the peak of Summer and the plot and garden are blooming and plentiful.

Key tasks that I’ll be undertaking this month include:

• Planting out brassicas. Prior to taking on the allotment plot I have had little luck with growing brassicas. In my garden there are a lot of hungry pigeons and wriggly little cabbage white larvae… so with hope in my heart I will be planting our a few kale and brussel sprout plants into a brassica bed.. my hope is for plenty of kale for salads throughout the summer, and nice big sprouts for Christmas!

• Thinning out apples. One of the things that I am most curious about on the plot are my fruit trees - I have inherited three apple trees, a damson tree, and (I think) a cherry tree. I can see a lot of apples starting to grow so I need to make sure to thin those clusters out to ensure nice juicy fruits later in the year.

• Water, water, water! I’ll be watering the garden and the plot regularly, but the things I’ll be paying most attention to are my tomato plants. I do not know what is going on this year but I don’t even have so much as a flower on any of my 21 (yes, you read that right!) plants.

• Friday Feed. With the tomatoes in mind, this is the time of year that I would usually be providing them with plenty of feed to encourage fruiting. Despite not fruit on the tomato plants, there are plenty of other vegetable and plants that will benefit from the ‘Friday Feed’.

• Harvesting. After having a surprisingly tasty harvest of fresh peas I am very much looking forward to harvesting my french beans this month! I will also take up the first early potatoes… I’m salivating at the thought! I’ve also been enjoying fresh gooseberries so am hoping to finish the last of these this month too.