Vegetable Growing Guide For August

Swiss Chard 'Bright Lights'

The past 6 months of hard work has brought the kitchen garden to bloom over the past 2 months and now it delightfully culminates in the month of August. Although weeding and watering still take the bigger priority, the mood has not subsided, as there are many happy harvests to be brought in during this month.

Indoors:

Start organising the onions, shallots and garlic on racks away from late summer rain. Be sure to turn them every few days and check for any pest riddled bulbs as well as any past their best.

Make space in freezers and cupboards that will soon be filled with sliced, diced, blanched or pickled vegetables. When storing root crop, check for any unwelcome little visitors that may ruin the crop by nibbling at the stored bags and crates.

Greenhouse/Coldframe:

The peak of summer means the air in the greenhouse will be getting very hot and dry; mist the air with water or damp down the greenhouse floor to create humidity. It will help keep pests like spider mites and green aphids at bay. Now that all the greenhouse plants like Tomato, Chilli, Aubergine and Sweet Pepper plants are in fruit. Hold back on daily watering but do not allow the soil to dry out, as weekly feeds of seaweed will require damp soil for effectiveness. Keep pinching out the side shoots on tomato plants and also remove the tip on the main growing stem.

Keep the greenhouse ventilation to a maximum, and use shading where necessary. Sow overwintering varieties of Onion, Parsley, Coriander and Lettuce varieties in seed or module trays, water in and place trays in coldframe.

Outdoors:

Most vegetables like Beetroot, summer Cabbages and Cauliflower, Kohlrabi Sweetcorn and Runner Beans will be cut and placed in harvest trugs, trays and boxes. Whilst the summer harvest comes, now is the time to sow direct the next season crops like Spinach, Cabbage, Turnips, and Oriental greens such as Pak Choi. Keep feeding flowering plants regularly.

Raise fruits like squashes and pumpkin off the ground onto straw or small paving slabs to avoid fruit rot whilst sat on the soil. Earth up, mulch and stake brassica varieties like Brussels Sprout, Kale and Sprouting Broccoli to protect them from wind rock during harsh winter weather.

For those not wanting to sow more vegetables, then don't leave the soil bare, take this opportunity to sow a Green Manure over winter.  

Top 5 Seeds To Sow In August

• Coriander – sow in pots so that you can bring indoors in late autumn
• ‘Cut & Come Agains’ – Mizuna, Mustard Ruby, Salad Rocket, Lettuce Green Salad Bowl to maintain the salad season for a fresh and tasty Christmas addition!
• Chervil - an invaluable winter herb with a gentle aniseedy flavour, lovely in salads and omelettes. It will only germinate as the weather cools, but is 100 per cent hardy and will happily grow outside through rain, snow and hail.
• Radish – fast growing and ready to eat in a matter of weeks
• Swiss Chard – a burst of colour to brighten the veg patch and the dinner plate

General tasks:

Keep checking for signs of pests. Second wave of Cabbage white butterfly will be laying eggs on brassica plants. Use mild soapy water to remove eggs from underside before caterpillars emerge and decimate leaves of winter crops. Remove and burn any tomato and potato leaves and stems affected by blight. Mix garden compost with straw and farm manure to mulch around plants to converse moisture in the soil