Tips for August 2024

Keep Camellias and Rhododendrons well watered. This ensures good flower bud formation for next Spring’s blooms.

Complete lifting second early potatoes.

Lightly trim Hebe and Lavender after flowering. Remove stems and approximately 2.5cm of the new growth.

Turn compost heaps to mix contents and add air which is necessary for the composting process. The heap should be slightly moist. If it is not covered by a lid, place a layer of cardboard on top to retain the heat and moisture and prevent weed seed from blowing in.

Cut the fruited canes of summer fruiting raspberries to soil level leaving new canes thinned to 10-15 cm apart.

Encourage more flowers by cutting Dahlia blooms regularly. If they are growing in pots they will benefit from, regular high-potassium feeds such as tomato fertiliser.

Sow a crop of parsley to take you through to Spring. and basil indoors to grow on a sunny window sill.

Sow quick maturing salad crops such as lettuce, radishes, salad onions and spinach for an Autumn crop.

Tie in long shoots of Rambling Roses to their supports and then cut back by a third of the oldest stems to the base. Finish off by shortening side shoots by two thirds.

Sow green manures to cover the soil that may otherwise remain bare. Green manures reduce weed growth, help prevent soil erosion and when dug in the ground, return valuable nutrients and improve structure. This month is a good time for sowing Clover, Trefoil, Buckwheat and Grazing Rye