- Plan this years planting, rotating crops to get good growth and prevent disease.
- Continue to harvest remaining crops like sprouts, cabbage, kale, leeks and parsnips keeping the brassicas netted to protect from pigeons. Remove yellowing leaves to stop fungal diseases taking hold.
- Finish digging clear beds and spread manure where required.
- Clean greenhouses, polytunnels, pots and trays in readiness for the coming season.
- Mid month, start chitting early crop seed potatoes in trays somewhere light, cool but frost-free.
- Sow summer brassicas and spinach on a sunny window sill to plant out in February.
- Sow Aubergines and chillies under cover in a heated propagator or on a sunny window sill from late in the month.
- Prune fruit bushes: Blackcurrants-remove 1/3 of the old, weak or damaged stems to ground level.
Gooseberries, redcurrants and whitecurrants-remove low-lying and dead wood and prune LAST years growth of the main stems back by half. Prune side shoots back to 3 buds.
- Apple and pear trees – prune to control their size and shape, but do not prune out more than 20% of the crown in any one winter.
- Grape vines- prune by mid January.
- Apply winter washes to fruit trees to control overwintering pests.
- Clear out bird boxes and give them a rinse.
- Keep bird feeders topped up.
- Chit mid and late crop seed potatoes in trays in a light, cool but frost-free location.
- Cover seedbeds with cloches to warm the soil in preparation for early veg crops.
- Apply lime where brassicas are to be grown at a rate of 270g(8oz) per sq. mtr (yard).
- To reduce the possibility of Club-root infection. Calcified seaweed is a natural alternative that can be forked in a week before planting at a rate of 140g(4oz) per sq. mtr (yard).
- If the weather is suitable, sow outdoors:- Broad beans, Peas, Spring garlic, Spinach.
- Plant Jerusalem artichokes.
- In a greenhouse or cold frame, sow:- Cabbages, Early leeks, Early lettuce, Radishes.
- In a heated propagator or on a sunny window sill, sow:- Celeriac, Mustard and cress, Sweet peppers and chillies, Aubergines, Tomatoes (at the end of the month).
- Continue harvesting any crops.
- Plant out summer brassicas and spinach in late Feb.
- Prune Autumn raspberries, cutting all canes down to the ground.
- Top-dress all fruit trees and bushes with sulphate of potash and mulch with well-rotted manure or compost keeping it away from the trunk/stems.
- Avoid turning the compost heap until mid-spring as it could contain hibernating small mammals, frogs and insects.
- Lift leeks to make room for new plantings. If you don’t want to eat them all now, heel them in as a bunch at the edge of the bed to keep them fresh for a bit longer.
- Prepare empty beds, as soon as the soil is dry enough to work, adding well rotted manure, compost, seaweed or blood fish and bone, depending on what you intend to grow.
- Plant early and salad potatoes from the middle of the month (unless the weather is particularly cold).
- It’s the last chance to plant bare-rooted fruit trees,canes and bushes-they need to go in before buds start to break. Don’t let the roots dry out before you get them in.
- Start sowing- from mid-month, weather permitting,peas,broad beans,parsnips and salad into prepared beds.
- Plant onion sets when ground temperature reaches 7’C
- Wash pots and trays ready for the season. This ,tho tiresome, is worth doing to prevent disease passing from one year to the next and gets rid of bugs and mould spores lurking in bits of old compost.
- Keep onion beds weeded and don’t let the soil dry out- onions are shallow rooted and weeds compete for nourishment.
- Plant main crop potatoes in early April. Varieties with some blight resistance are a good bet as main crop stay in the ground longer and are more likely to get this problem than crops that are lifted earlier.
- Sow (weather permitting) peas, runner and french beans, carrots, beetroot, parsnips, salad crops (little and often), spinach, sweet corn, swede, brassicas, courgettes and pumpkins.
- Plant a herb bed allowing plenty of room between plants. If planting mint, you can confine it to a container to stop it spreading or control it ruthlessly by digging up roots that extend too far. Don’t put the roots on the compost heap
- Plant out pot grown runner and french beans as soon as the risk of frost has passed
(Stems twist anti-clockwise as they climb).
- Protect fruit bushes from birds using netting that allows pollinators to pass through.
- Earth up potatoes (round hoe) as the plants grow being careful not to bury the whole plant.
- Thin carrots on a still evening after watering. This helps to keep carrot flies from being attracted by the smell of crushed leaves.
- Keep on top of weeds with regular hoeing or hand weeding.
- When planting out brassicas, fitting a collar (bought or home made) snugly around the base of the plant. This helps to prevent root flies laying eggs near that burrow down when hatched and eat the roots.
- Feed strawberry plants every 7 days and water regularly removing unwanted runners as soon as you see them.
- Keep sowing seeds successively for longer cropping.
- Prune cherry trees to help reduce the risk of silver leaf
- Plant out pot-grown plants into their final position as soon as possible. If roots are restricted, growth stops, and plants may be stunted.
- Keep weeding!! Weeds grow even faster in June and July and it makes things easier if you can keep on top of this job.
- Strim and mow your paths, including the communal allotment site paths as per your allotment lease. Not only does this keep the site tidy, but you can also use the grass as mulch and cut down on the hiding places for pests.
- Keep watering—June can be very dry. Plants that are deprived of water will crop poorly or just die. Water in the evening so that it doesn’t just evaporate before doing some good and use mulches to help to keep the water in the soil.
- Check under one of your March planted early potatoes to see if the tubers are big enough to eat, if not just put the soil back and wait a week before trying again.
- Keep an eye on your currants as they start to ripen this month, the clusters ripening from the top down. Picking off individual berries as the first ones ripen will give you a bigger harvest overall and those at the top of the clusters are usually the biggest.
- Water, water, water! Raised beds need more water than level ground and grow bags, pots and containers can dry out fast in hot weather.
- Keep an eye out for pests and deal with them before they get out of hand.
- Lift and dry autumn planted garlic—spring planted can stay in the ground for now. Dry plants by spreading out in the sun or drying under cover if the weather is poor.
- Net cherries or the birds will have them all!
- If you haven’t got time to make jams and jellies with your fruit crop, open freeze your berries then bag them and use them when things slow down.
- Replant beds, as they are cleared, with salad crops or a late crop of mangetout , perpetual spinach or chard. If you don’t replant, mulch the bed to keep it in good condition.
- Misting flowering runner bean plants in hot , dry weather can help you get a good pod set.
- Propagate strawberries using runners from the strongest plants. Peg the number needed into small pots of compost and when they have rooted, cut the stalk and grow the plants on for next year.
- Keep on picking!
- Keep harvesting crops like French and Runner beans and Courgettes to prevent them getting too big and to encourage new growth.
- Harvest 2nd early potatoes.
- Harvest main crop potatoes towards the end of the month once the foliage dies down. If blight appears, remove the foliage.
- Onions, shallots and garlic-pull up when tops are dry and dry fully before storing indoors in the cool.
- Harvest sweetcorn when a grain exudes a milky juice when tested with a fingernail.
- Plant out winter brassicas (broccoli, cabbage and kale).
- Sow perpetual spinach and Swiss chard.
- Make last sowing of carrots and beetroot early in the month.
- Sow parsley and divide chives.
- Harvest early apples and pears.
- Harvest plums and blackberries as they ripen.
- Summer prune trained fruit trees (fans, cordons and espaliers).
- Prune plum and damson trees after fruiting.
- Water as necessary.
- Harvest main crop potatoes, dry them off before storing and check each tuber for damage and disease. Store only healthy, undamaged potatoes in jute, hessian or paper bags in a cool, dark, frost-free place.
- Store onions in nets or on slatted trays in a well ventilated place.
- Keep harvesting!!
- Leave autumn squashes to ripen on the plant for as long as possible. Place a tile or wooden board under the fruit to keep it clean. They are ready to harvest when richly coloured and sound hollow when tapped.
- Plant out spring cabbage and over-wintering onion sets.
- Spinach can be sown until the middle of the month as can parsley, rocket and coriander.
- Sow green manure crops on any empty beds.
- Sow kale for spring harvest and sow broad beans late in the month.
- Protect leafy veg crops with bird netting.
- Cut herbs for drying.
- Pot up strawberry runners to make new plants or plant out new strawberries.
- Prune out the fruited canes of summer raspberries, blackberries, loganberries and Tay berries leaving the new green canes as these will bear next years fruit.
- Prune blackcurrants, removing damaged, crossing and some old branches down to near ground level.
- Summer prune trained fruit trees (fans, espaliers and cordons).
- Apply grease bands to fruit trees at the end of the month to deter winter moth infestation.
- Continue to harvest.
- Protect carrots with insect mesh as carrot flies cause most damage in late summer and autumn.
- Pick squashes and “cure” in a warm dry place for 10-14 days then, store in a cool, light place until required.
- Plant overwintering garlic and onion sets -onions just peeping above the surface and garlic, 11/2–2 inches deep spaced 7 inches apart.
- Plant overwintering peas and broad beans .
- Plant out spring cabbage.
- Keep weeding.
- Begin to add well-rotted manure to empty beds where you intend to plant brassicas next year (but not where you intend to plant carrots and parsnips next season as it may cause them to fork).
- Continue to harvest apples and pears as they ripen. Store, only perfect fruit, in a cool, well ventilated pace.
- Lift and divide rhubarb that has been in place for 5 years or more. Discard the centre and replant the outer crown sections.
- Take hardwood cuttings from gooseberries and currants. Below is a link to show you how to do it for blackcurrants-the technique for gooseberries is much the same.
https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-take-hardwood-cuttings-of-blackcurrant-plants/
- Clear away strawberry foliage to prevent the build up of pests and diseases.
- Compost pea and bean foliage but leave the roots in the ground as they contain nitrogen.
- Sow green manures.
- Dig and store any remaining potatoes (see Septembers Tips),
- Keep harvesting as needed.
- Plant overwintering onion sets, garlic peas and broad beans if not already done.
- Cut down Autumn-fruiting raspberries to the ground once they have finished.
- Fruit tree and bush prunings should be disposed of away from your allotment to prevent the spread of disease and pests.
- Gather up fallen leaves from fruit trees and bushes and dispose of them as they too may contain pests and diseases. Other leaves can be turned into leaf mould by putting them into sacks for a year.Leave some areas of leaf litter and wood piles for wildlife to use.
- NOTE:-Blackcurrants,redcurrants and gooseberries can be pruned up until the end of February but hardwood cuttings should be taken by the end of this month.
- Order bare-rooted fruit trees for delivery this month onward.
- Check stored apples and pears and discard any rotten fruit.
- Rough dig the ground (unless using a no-dig method) weeding as you go.
- If you get a delivery of manure, cover the pile with something waterproof to prevent the winter rain from leaching out the nutrients.
- Check stored potatoes regularly and discard any blight damaged or rotten tubers.
- Harvest cabbages, parsnips and leeks as needed.
- Harvest Brussels sprouts before they blow open, picking from the base of the plant upwards.
- Keep brassicas netted and remove any yellowed leaves to prevent fungal diseases taking hold.
- Check stored fruit and discard any that is rotting.
- Plant bare-rooted fruit trees-below is a link to show you how.
https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-plant-a-bare-root-fruit-tree/
- Prune apples and pears to control shape and size of non-restricted trees.
- Cordon, fan and espalier trees are pruned in summer.
- Below is a link to the RHS site about winter pruning.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/fruit/apples/winter-pruning
- Start planning next years planting. Consider what grew well, what you would like to try and think about crop rotation.
