Gardening Hints and Tasks for July 2022

During dry weather, raise the blades on your lawn mower to allow the

grass to grow a little bit longer. This will keep it greener and help

it retain moisture.

Top up water levels. Water can evaporate rapidly from water features

and ponds in the height of summer, so top them up if the water level

drops significantly. Rainwater from a water butt is best – chemicals

in tap water can affect the nutrient balance in the pond.

If your greenhouse is in a sunny spot, it can quickly get too hot on

sunny days. Put shading material or paint with shading paint to reduce

the temperature inside.

Sow kohlrabi, lettuce, leaf beet, chard, endive, chicory, Florence

fennel, chervil and coriander. Finish sowing beetroot and savoy

cabbage in the first week of July. After mid-July, sow land cress,

Chinese cabbage and spinach. From the end of July to mid-August, sow

mustards, pak choi and salad rocket.

Leafy veg, such as lettuce, chard, kale, spinach, and herbs, such as

coriander and basil, need most water to keep growing new leaves.

Root veg, such as kohlrabi, beetroot and potatoes in their last month

of growth, need little water other than when roots do a final swell.

Every few days is better than a large dose weekly, which might cause

splitting of roots.