HILLINGDON ALLOTMENT AND HORTICULTURAL FEDERATION

� If you are going on holiday this month, remember to ask someone to keep harvesting your fruit and
vegetables, either for themselves or your freezer.
August Action Plan
� When harvesting potatoes, take care to remove all tubers as any left will sprout next year and can
spread disease.
� Keep harvesting the courgettes, don‘t let them get large as they will think that the job is done and they
can stop trying to reproduce. About 10cm (4 inches) is the perfect size for harvesting.
� It‘s your last chance to sow beetroot for an autumn harvest. Sow seed directly in the ground in fertile
soil.
� Water tomato plants daily and increase feeding to ensure healthy fruit. Remove any yellow leaves at
the base by snapping off the stems.
� Pick carrots as soon as they‘re big enough to eat. Choose undamaged roots and store in a cool, dry
place.
� Continue to sow hardy salad seeds for a tasty crop over winter. Mulch around plants to keep the
moisture in.
� Don‘t let high winds damage the sweetcorn, support with a spade of soil around the base and tread well
down.
� Keep the greenhouse ventilated – hang sticky yellow cards as fly traps and perhaps shade the glass
with a whitewash.
� Keep an eye on brassicas and remove any caterpillar eggs from the underside of leaves.
� Use string across the cabbage patch to deter hungry birds from nibbling the leaves.
� Turn compost to distribute heat and speed up the ‗rotting‘ process. If it is very dry, you can add a little
water (urine is very good especially if you have a good aim or a big bucket) but do not soak.
� Keep an eye on crops that bolt in the hot dry weather such as lettuce and brassicas.
� Raise the cutting height of the mower. Taller grass cools the roots and helps to keep the moisture in the
soil longer.
� Take care not to cross the lawn in bare feet as there are plenty of bees and wasps around now
enjoying the clover flowers!
� If you have oregano and marjoram flowering in the garden, now is the best time for drying – cut the
stems, tie with string, and hang upside down somewhere dry, well ventilated and dark (airing cupboard
is good) for about a week, then store in jars for winter.
� You can do a similar thing with flowers such as lavender to make drawer scent bags or potpourri.
� Continue to dead head flowers and pick pea pods to encourage further blooms.
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