Garden Wisdom for July

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

Stella Gardening Tips for July


Wenvoe Kings Of The Road have a secret passion for all things flora. Firstly Dai (The Ditch) Cannon gives us his tips on keeping on top of things in the garden.

  1. Don’t worry, there’s always tomorrow.
  2. Deadhead roses to keep them flowering.
  3. If you are stumped by trying to name a plant, organise a quiz, someone will know.
  4. Give Dahlias a feed and keep well watered.
  5. The plants we buy on a whim never get looked after like the ones we intended to buy.

Roger ‘Triumph’ Davies tells us about things to do in July.

  1. Autumn king carrots can still be planted to prolong the harvest.
  2. Feed and deadhead roses.
  3. Remove whippy side shoots of wisteria
  4. Cut as many flowers as you can off your sweet peas to put in vases as the more you cut, the more they flower.
  5. If you’re buying shrubs at the garden centre, don’t take the motorbike,

The Soil Association is a charity which was formed in 1946 to promote the use of organic solutions for keeping soil healthy and safe to use. They work with farmers and growers to change some of their practices.

Some soil facts.

  1. Soil stores more carbon than the atmosphere and all forests,
  2. Healthy soil can help prevent flooding.
  3. Every minute we lose the equivalent of 30 football pitches.
  4. It can take up to a 1000 years for a single centimetre of soil to form.

One of the Soil Association’s main recommendations is that we try to keep the soil covered at all times, most of the year it’s not a problem as plants cover the soil. During the winter they recommend that we use a thick layer of mulch, green manure crops or old blankets to cover the soil to prevent erosion.

We are asked to help wildlife in our gardens where we can. One of the most fascinating mammals to see is the bat. A simple bat box and some night scented flowers, such as evening primrose to attract moths, and it won’t be long before bats are coming to your garden at dusk.

Try not to let seed pods form on sweet peas yet or they will stop flowering. If you would like to see sweet peas at their grandest, then the rear garden of Mr Crumps in Rectory Close is a must. Keep up the deadheading of bedding plants and repeat flowering perennials. July is a good month to take hydrangea cutting, cut off a non-flowering stem just below a leaf joint and stick it in soil. Watering is a task that we have to undertake especially if you have a lot of pots. thick mulch on the top of pots will help reduce the evaporation.

On the allotment and in veg gardens watering can sometimes be a choice of which plants get watered, especially if you have to carry it a fair distance. Lettuce, rocket and spinach will bolt and go to seed if allowed to dry out. Gardeners will be harvesting some of their fruit and veg this month, as well as planning for later this year and the following spring, seeds like lettuce, beetroot and carrot can be sown along with winter cabbage and kale, plus some potatoes for Christmas dinner.

Take care and happy gardening.