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Garden Notes for July 2021.

When roses have come to the end of their first glorious flush of blooms, try to give them a feed of a complete fertilizer as this will help with the second lot of blooms. Don’t forget to dead head them as well. Outdoor chrysanthemums will also need a feed, one with a high potash content to help the flowering process.

Early crops of new potatoes, early peas and broad beans will soon be finishing, make sure to clear away the top growth as soon as possible to make room for catchcrops such as the round carrots and beetroot. I have been planting radish in raised beds with a high compost ratio and have had lovely juicy radish within 5 to 6 weeks from sowing, just the thing to have a with a crisp lettuce cut from the garden.

Complete leek planting as soon as possible. Sow swede by the middle of the month. Lift shallots when their foliage has yellowed and turned over. Make sure to dry them out completely before storing.

Any flower heads that appear on spring-sown parsley should be removed as soon as possible as they will prevent leaf production which is what you want.

Dahlias need to be disbudded if you want top quality blooms. Keep an eye on them and feed with a fertiliser, as they are very hungry feeders.

If you have a problem with greenhouse ventilation that means you have to leave the main door open, and, as a result, you have unwanted visitors like sparrows and cats dust bathing in the soil, or attacking the plants, try putting up a door insect screen. They cost about £13 and are effective.

Early in the month dig up and divide dwarf and intermediate bearded irises if they have been undisturbed for 3 or more years. Tall bearded irises should be treated in a similar way towards the end of the month.

The best time for propagating many shrubs is at the back end of July. Cuttings of half ripened wood of shrubs like forsythia, ribes, escallonia and weigela can all be taken. Pull off the shoots with a heel of older wood, trim it neatly with a sharp knife and insert them into a box with sandy soil. Shade from bright sunshine, and next year you will have a whole lot more shrubs.

Do not cut the lawn too low, and wait for it to have sufficient length to provide a cut. Keep lawn edges trimmed.

Chris

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