Jobs for the Month

July 2026

Vegetables

  • Harvest early potatoes when the flowers die down. Also continue to earth up maincrop potatoes to prevent tubers turning green.
  • Pull up garlic plants and onions when tops start to die down. Place bulbs in sun to dry out for two weeks.
  • Harvest broad beans and peas.
  • Harvest courgettes regularly to prevent them developing into marrows.
  • Pick lettuce, radish, carrot and beetroot when they reach required size.
  • Continue to pinch out side-shoots on cordon tomatoes and tie in plants to supports.
  • Feed tomatoes with a high potash fertilizer once the first fruits begin to set.
  • Plant out sweet corn in blocks to aid wind pollination.
  • Ensure runner beans are climbing up poles/frame, tying in if required.
  • Successionally, sow spinach, beetroot, lettuce, rocket basil
  • Plant out any remaining greenhouse-grown plants such as sweetcorn, leeks, squash, cabbage, broccoli and any other brassica plants.
  • Inspect brassica plants for caterpillars and pick off to prevent excessive damage

Fruit

  • Continue to harvest strawberries as they ripen.
  • Peg out strawberry runners into pots of compost/earth to produce a new strawberry plant for planting out next year.
  • Pick any remaining blackcurrants and redcurrants
  • Harvest any remaining gooseberries
  • Pick raspberries and, later in the month, the first blackberries may be ripe.
  • Continue to check plum trees and thin the fruits to prevent mildew spreading and over laden branches breaking.

Flowers

  • Pick flowers for decorating the house as they bloom.
  • Regularly dead head flowers once they finish flowering unless you wish to keep the seeds

General

  • Water plants that require it – see Watering Guidelines page for advice
  • Continue to hand-weed or hoe regularly to keep on top of weeds.
  • Continue to mow or clip grass paths weekly.
  • Regularly add waste clippings and other organic matter to the compost heap
  • Continue to cut comfrey every 4 to 6 weeks and make a comfrey “tea” for an excellent liquid feed to ripening crops.

Gardening for wildlife

For general tips on wildlife gardening follow this link

  • Leave some wild patches (e.g. nettles, rotting branches) for insects, butterflies and other wildlife to hide and lay eggs in.
  • Remember to top up any water supplies on your plot (e.g. pond or open ucket so that birds can take a drink in the hot weather.