Gardening Tips for the month of JULY – Mid Summer

1. Summer Prune Wisteria – During early July, about two months after flowering, prune side-shoots and long twining stems down to five or six leaves from a main branch.
2. WEEDING where necassary
3. Water your hanging Baskets and containers – At least once a day
4. Feed your hanging baskets and containers
5. Harvest your salad vegetables when ready – Especially lettuce
6. Propagate Strawberry plants by pegging down any runners that have grown
7. Keep your eyes peeled for pests – Slugs and snails in particular
8. White fly – Check your Fuchsias
9. Don’t forget to dead head any faded, jaded or dying blooms
10. Watch out for signs of Mildew – Best to prune out and burn
11. Any Beetroots sown earlier should be ready now – Don’t let them get too big
12. Aphids need to be watched – They multiply fast at this time of the year – carefully check any Fuchsias
13. Mow your lawn regularly
14. Shade your Greenhouse from the hot summer sun
    and keep it well ventilated, day and night
15. Clematis wilt can show up now at this time of year
16. Decide on what your going to do about the newly forming
    Rose hips, they can make good winter interest and provide seed, if not prune
17. Watch out for Lily Beetle
18. You can also dead head annual bedding plants – They too could use a feed
19. Your pond if you have one needs to be checked over. Remove any blanket weed and dead head and remove any dead foliage from the pond plants
20. If you planted it earlier, the spinach is ready for harvesting
21. If your growing them, your pumpkin’s need some food and plenty of water
22. Around mid July, propagate herbs from cuttings
23. Some summer flowering plants are setting seed, you can collect these if the seed head is ripe
24. Sow Pansy and Viola seed for September planting- Keep them cool whilst germinating, less than 21c
25. Sow perennial seed – Most herbaceous plants can be sown now, check seed packet for details
26. If you have any Irises growing – You can lift and divide them now – Make sure you water them in well when re planting
27. Sweetcorn should be nearly ready if planted earlier
28. Tomato blossom end rot can form now – Avoid splashing water onto the fruits
29. If your feeling energetic – Turn the Compost heap
30. This is the month to take  Box (Buxus) cuttings – Around Mid month onwards
31. Some tree and bush fruit might be ready, peaches and nectarines in particular
32. Sow your autumn lettuce seed now
33. You can also plant, as long as you watch the watering, any gaps in your flower borders
34. Pick any flowers from the garden to use indoors – This will encourage more flowers, Verbena Bonariensis should be flowering well now
35. Summer prune Espalier Apple trees – The shoots growing from horizontal branches.
36. Harvest your onions as the leaves turn yellow and die back – You can leave them on the surface to dry out
37. Don’t forget your House Plants – Feed and water
38. You should be both, harvesting and sowing for continuation of your salad crops 

Gardening Ideas for the month of JULY

• If you have always fancied having a pond in your garden – July is a good month to build a garden pond

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