Tips for July 2025

Continue to harvest summer-fruiting raspberries. Once fruiting is finished, cut old fruited canes to ground-level and tie in new, healthy canes to supports 10cm apart.

Now is an ideal time to plant autumn-flowering bulbs such as Colchicum, Sternbergia and Nerine.

Harvest garlic, shallots and onions when foliage has turned yellow. Place them in a dry, sunny spot to allow them to ripen.

Keep bird baths full, but clean regularly to avoid spreading diseases such as bird pox.

Wisteria is best pruned twice a year to control its size and promote flowering. Summer prune by shortening long, whippy, current season growth to five or six leaves.

Keep sowing salad and spinach crops for a plentiful supply of fresh leaves through summer. Water at the roots during periods of dry weather.

Finish summer pruning gooseberries, white currents and red currents this month. Cut back new growth to within two or three leaves of old wood to encourage goblet shape to allow air and light into the plants.

Water and feed your sweet peas regularly to maintain plenty of vibrant blooms. Prolong flowering by picking flowers every few days and removing seed pods promptly.

Lift first and second early potatoes once the flowers open or buds drop.

Prune stone fruit trees such as plums, cherry and damson as soon as you can after harvesting. The cuts heal rapidly in warm weather, reducing the risk of silver leaf infection.