July, the midsummer heat is on and garden thoughts slowly turn to harvest and autumn sowing. Our top-up seed orders are in. Mostly edible leaves and the last root crops for now.
It’s getting late to be sowing chicories, so we must get them in soon. We have renewed supplies of Franchi’s Italian red radicchio and freckled Castelfranco. Plus, we are adding a readymade mix of “oriental leaves” – pak choi, mizuna, tatsoi, etc.
We’ll also add some late-ish salads: a mix of a wild and a cultivated rocket to sow towards the end of the month, plus, some “autumn/winter cut-and-come-again”. We will top up the classic white-stemmed Swiss chard with Suffolk Herbs’s red rhubarb chard. Spinach is good to go again now that the risk of bolting is diminished
We’ll try to leave room for late beetroot and radishes. Howard doesn’t much love the latter, though I favour them for crisp crunch, peppery flavour and speed of growth. I’ll stick to a short row for now.
Remember to maybe restock peas and beans. July is your last opportunity. Pinch out the tips of bean plants when they reach the top of the climbing frames. Regularly spray with water to help flowers set. Keep back some pods for next year. It’s good to sow saved seed. Pinch out side shoot on tomato plants, too.
If you have enough room for fruit, this is their time. Remember to prune raspberries as soon as picking’s finished. Tightly trim blackcurrants. Thin through apples and pears, check for infestation. Lift and dry any onions, garlic and shallots.
Be consistent with weeding and watering. Find someone to water for you if you are going away. Offer the same service to others. Watering also helps to slow seed-setting.
July is a month to pick flowers and fruit. To share homegrown food with friends and family. To thank the garden gods.
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