August - "summer's leave hath all too short a date"
As the summer season comes to a close, so gaps appear in the garden as plants mature and the fruits (and veg) of our labour are picked. This creates opportunities to sow hardy varieties to overwinter or green manures to protect that precious resource - our garden soil.
Keep your new sowings well watered; the soil will be warm so they should germinate quickly.
Filling the gaps depends how much room you have and what you like eating I . try to keep up with successional sowings of herbs, these always add flavour to any dish. Early this month sow pots of basil, fenugreek, caraway and chervil. Parsley germinates well this time of year and like coriander, has less tendency to bolt.
You could also sow:
- a catch crop of salad leaves - depending on the mix, these are typically ready for cutting in 48 days.
- carrots for Christmas, stump -rooted variety like sweet candle
- spring cabbages
Hardy varieties of lettuce such as Marvel of Four seasons or Arctic King.
Chicory and endive
Salad greens such as lambs lettuce (corn salad or mache) landcress, winter purslane, rocket, mustards and mizuna.
Hardy spring onions
Perpetual spinach
Turnips
Japanese onions
Potatoes for Christmas
Last chance for winter radishes, chard
If you're wanting to get an early start on your flower garden then sow;
- hardy annual seeds like poppies, Californian poppies, cornflowers, calendulas and larkspur now to provide earlier flowers next year.
- Wild carrot or Queen Anne's lace.
- winter flowering pansies and violas
- cyclamen hederifolium
Top Tip - hand weed or hoe any weeds in your borders before they seed. Old country saying 1 year’s seeds = 7 years’ weeds
.