July is usually one of the driest months so a lot of time may be spent watering.
Another good method of preventing water loss is to hoe. This not only kills the weeds but breaks up the top of the soil stopping water from being drawn to the surface by capillary action and evaporating.
Harvest
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Sowing, Planting and Cultivating
Sowing
A few things you can sow in July.
- Spring Cabbage
- Chicory
- Chinese cabbage
- Kohlrabi
- Lettuce
- Peas
- French Beans
- Beetroot
- Carrots
- Radishes
Planting Out
If they’ve not gone out yet, it’s time to plant out your leeks.
It’s also the month to plant out:
- Broccoli and Calabrese
- Cabbages and Cauliflowers
- Kale
Cultivating
Keep on top of the weeds.
Keep your tomato sideshoots in check, you want tomatoes not masses of foliage. Ensure they are watered regularly, drying out prevents the plant from taking up sufficient calcium and the deficit causes blossom end rot.
Don’t forget to feed your tomatoes as well. It’s a good idea to give your maincrop potatoes a feed as well. A major cause of poor crops with potatoes is poor nutrition. A feed balanced as for tomatoes is ideal. If you make your own feed from comfrey, this is ideal.
Keep your onions well weeded and don’t forget to feed them as well to get the best possible crop.
Fruit
Many fruits are ready to harvest or swelling. Swelling fruit requires a lot of water so ensure they have enough.
July is a good month for summer pruning apple trees.
General Tasks
Keep on top of the pests. Aphids and Blackfly are a particular problem. You can control them with pesticides or just wash them off many plants with a strong jet of water. A wash with soft soap will do no harm to the plants and will reduce numbers.
With broad beans you can pinch out the tops which are most attractive to blackfly. Another ‘trick’ is to plant some nasturtiums which attract blackfly. You can then pull the nasturtiums and their blackfly.
Keep an eye on your brassicas for butterfly eggs and caterpillars, these will most probably be under the leaves.