Garden

Our Gardening Journal - Love your garden with our month by month summary

Success.....

The weather in August is often the same as July, if July is wet then August is likely to be wet also. But do not despair, as this is the month a gardener can go on holiday as long as he/she has mown the lawn, watered thoroughly and asked a friend or neighbour to feed the cat!

The harvesting season is now in full swing, so make sure you pick crops that are ready. Leave them too long and they’ll lose flavour and tenderness. Now is a good time to sow radish and spring cabbage for next year, winter varieties of spinach and turnips.  Having spent lots of time and effort growing your fruit and veg to perfection, once picked protect it with fleece or small mesh plastic netting.

I can’t explain my delight this afternoon when I plunged my hand deep into my bag of growing potatoes, searching for a sign that indeed all my hard work and perseverance had paid off.

Screaming at the top of my voice I shouted the family to come and see what I had found and even now I am still overjoyed at my find. Half a sack of potatoes lies on my kitchen floor, drying off in the sun for a few hours before being stored in the dark. Success !

September is the best time to sow a new lawn or lay turf, but it pays to prepare the area now. Once the turf has been removed, work over the soil to a depth of 9 inches with a fork and spade, removing weed roots and large stones, and incorporating compost or composted bark. Rake and level the soil walking over it to settle it, rake again and then leave bare to allow the seeds to germinate.