Gardening Jobs: July

Flowers

• Cut lavender for drying, choosing newly opened flowers for the best fragrance, then hang up in a cool, dark place
• Give dahlias a liquid feed, keep them well watered and tie the shoots of tall varieties to sturdy stakes as they grow
• Hoe and hand-weed borders often, so weeds don’t have time to set seed
• Water and feed sweet peas regularly, pick the flowers every few days, and remove seed pods to prolong flowering
• Plant autumn bulbs, including nerines, colchicums and sternbergia, in pots and borders
• Feed, water and deadhead summer bedding regularly, in pots, borders and hanging baskets
• Cut back early summer perennials, such as hardy geraniums and delphiniums, after flowering for a second flush
• Take softwood cuttings from shrubs such as pyracantha, cotinus, hydrangeas and spiraea
• Feed and deadhead roses to keep them flowering strongly
• Keep watch for pests such as lily beetles, snails, aphids and vine weevils, and remove before they do too much harm
• Pick off flowers on coleus plants to maintain their colourful leaves
• Sow biennials, such as foxgloves, honesty, forget-me-nots and wallflowers, for blooms next year
• Cut back geraniums and other summer perennials

Fruit and veg

• Check crops such as runner beans regularly for aphids, and rub or wash them off straight away, before they multiply
• Water thirsty plants such as celery, beans, peas, courgettes, pumpkins and tomatoes regularly
• Make the last pickings of rhubarb and remove any flower spikes that start to form, cutting right down at the base
• Thin out heavy crops of apples, pears and plums, and remove any malformed, damaged or undersized fruits
• Prune plum trees in dry weather, when silver leaf fungal disease is less prevalent
• Sow a last batch of peas and dwarf beans before mid-July for an autumn crop
• Shorten side shoots growing from the framework of trained fruit trees, reducing to about five leaves from their base
• Water fruit trees and bushes, then lay a thick mulch of garden compost around their base to hold in moisture
• Cover brassicas with fine netting to prevent cabbage white butterflies laying their eggs on the leaves
• Peg down strawberry runners into pots of compost to root new plants
• Pick courgettes regularly so they don’t turn into marrows
• Sow small batches of fast-maturing salad leaves, rocket and radishes every few weeks for continuous pickings
• Cut down broad beans after harvesting, but leave the roots in the soil to release nitrogen as they decompose
• Protect brassicas from cabbage white butterflies with fine netting

Greenhouse

• Open greenhouse vents and doors on warm days to improve air circulation
• Continue pinching out any side shoots growing from the leaf joints of cordon tomatoes
• Take cuttings from fuchsias, coleus, pelargoniums, marguerites and other tender perennials
• Water tomatoes daily to prevent drying out, which can lead to split fruits and blossom end rot
• Order cold-stored potato tubers for planting in a greenhouse or cool porch next month, to harvest at Christmas
• Damp down the greenhouse floor each morning on hot days to increase humidity
• Be vigilant for aphids, vine weevils and other pests, and treat immediately so infestations don’t get out of hand
• Feed tomatoes, chillies and cucumbers with high-potash tomato fertiliser every week to encourage fruiting
• Install a reservoir watering system, so thirsty plants such as tomatoes don’t dry out
• Regularly sweep greenhouse staging and floors to reduce debris that can harbour pests and diseases
• Train the main stem of cucumbers up supports and pinch out sideshoots two leaves after a flower or fruit
• Damp down greenhouses on hot days to increase humidity

Garden maintenance

• Compost your kitchen and garden waste, chopping up and mixing the contents to speed up decomposition
• Top up bird baths, ponds and water features during hot weather
• Water new trees, shrubs and perennials planted in spring, to help them through dry spells
• Trim conifers and other garden hedges
• Scoop out any floating pondweed and algae from pools and water features
• Keep mowing lawns regularly, but raise the cutting height to leave the grass longer during dry weather
• Water hanging baskets and patio containers daily, in the morning or evening
• Deadhead bedding plants, sweet peas and annuals every few days to encourage more flowers
• Set up an automatic watering system to look after greenhouse crops, pots and baskets if you’re going on holiday
• Make your own liquid feed from comfrey plants
• Apply tomato feed fortnightly to crops in pots and growing bags, such as tomatoes and chillies, to encourage fruiting
• Trim lavender after flowering to keep plants compact and bushy, but avoid cutting into old wood
• Be on the lookout for developing pest problems and take action straight away
• Trim conifers to maintain an even shape

House plants

• Feed houseplants once a week with liquid fertiliser, continuing through to autumn
• Water your house plants more regularly as the temperatures warm and light levels increase, check the soil before watering.
• Repot any houseplants that have become top heavy or pot bound into larger containers
• Ensure house plants are not getting scorched by summer sunshine. Either move further from the window or choose house plants that will thrive in a sunny spot
• Some house plants, like snake plants, are particularly prone to collecting dust on their leaves. So be sure to give these a wipe regularly
• Put houseplants outside for the summer in a warm, sheltered spot to enjoy the fresh air and extra light
• Take leaf cuttings from houseplants, including African violets and begonias
• Check your house plants for pests like aphids, scale insects, thrips and mealybugs
• Take large-leaved houseplants into the garden and hose them down to clean off accumulated dust

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