With summer truly underway, your earlier efforts in the garden or allotment should be literally bearing fruit. Here are some jobs you might want to tackle on your patch this July, before enjoying dinner al fresco at your new Supremo Palermo dining set.
Thin out fruit trees
The overproduction of fruit can mean you end up with very small plums, pears or apples, because each fruit is fighting for nutrition and sunlight. Remove damaged, misshapen or tiny fruits, or just pick some in order to enjoy larger, ripe fruits later on.
Prune plum trees
Prune your plum trees during dry spells, to help avoid silver leaf fungal disease.
Water fruit shrubs
Water your fruit bushes, trees and shrubs well, then place a layer of compost around the bases to help retain moisture.
Harvest rhubarb
Pick the last of your rhubarb, and cut down any flower spikes that have begun to take shape.
Strawberry runners
Place strawberry runners into pots of compost, so that new plants can take root.
Water thirsty veg
Make sure you give thirsty veg such as beans, celery, courgettes, peas, pumpkins and tomatoes plenty of water.
Brassicas
Cover broccoli, cauliflower and cabbages with fine netting to help stop butterflies laying their eggs on the leaves.
Courgettes
Harvest courgettes when ripe to prevent them growing into marrows.
Broad beans
Harvest broad beans, then cut down, leaving the roots to release nitrogen and fertilise the soil.
Runner beans
Check for pests like aphids, and remove any immediately to avoid multiplication.
Beans and peas
Sow dwarf beans and peas by mid-month, to ensure a crop come autumn.
