August
is a time to sit back and enjoy your garden. It is a time when you
will (quite literally) enjoy the fruits of your labours earlier in
the year. While there is always lots to do for a keen organic
gardener, August is mostly about harvesting, watering and enjoying
what is left of the summer. Here are just some of the jobs you might
be getting done this month in the various areas of your garden:
Jobs In
The Vegetable Garden
-
Feed peppers, cucumbers and aubergines with a
high-potassium organic feed when fruits start to form.
-
Pinch out growing tips of runner beans and tomatoes.
-
Harvest maincrop potatoes as leaves begin to yellow and
die back.
-
Harvest spring sown carrots, beetroot and other root
vegetables.
-
Harvest French and runner beans little and often.
Jobs in
the Fruit Garden/Orchard
-
Plant out rooted strawberry runners.
-
Cut back summer fruiting raspberry canes after
harvesting.
-
Prune blackcurrant bushes after harvesting.
- Harvest cherries,
plums, peaches, nectarines and apricots, perhaps even some apples
towards the end of the month.
-
Freeze gluts of fruit for later use.
Jobs in
the Flower Garden
-
Stake tall flowers such as lilies and dahlias to
prevent wind and rain damage.
-
Continue to deadhead flowers and encourage flowering
into autumn.
-
Trim lavender plants after flowering.
-
Collect ripened seed and store it for next year.
-
Take cuttings of tender perennials such as pelargoniums
and fuchsia for use next year.
Jobs
Under Cover
-
Tidy up dead or diseased plant material around plants
in your greenhouse or polytunnel to keep things healthy.
-
Continue to ventilate well and water daily in hot
weather.
-
Damp down the greenhouse or polytunnel on very hot
days.
-
Monitor plants grown under cover carefully for pests
and/or disease.
-
Plant salad and other winter crops under cover for
winter use.
General
Garden Jobs
-
Cut back, divide and harvest in the herb garden.
-
If you are planning on laying a new lawn this autumn,
prepare the ground now to give it time to settle.
-
Order perennial plants and spring bulbs for autumn
delivery.
-
Keep bird baths/small ponds topped up in hot, dry
weather.
-
Consider employing natural, organic methods to control
big pest problems.