Garden jobs in July

garden jobs in july

This post is a part of a series about the things I usually do/sow/harvest in my garden in a given month. I post at the beginning of each month and at the end of each month I check in to let you know how the month went in our garden(s). I am gardening in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in a cool temperate climate, roughly zone 7. Your sowing times might be somewhat different depending on your local climate.

July to do list
Sow outside
Carrots, beets, bush beans, chard, endive, radicchio, fennel, spring onions, summer radishes
Harvesting:
Carrots, beets, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, beans, last peas, onions, garlic, chard, currants, raspberries, gooseberries
Jobs:
Support tomatoes and continue removing side shoots in indeterminate varieties
Weed as necessary
Water if there is no rain
Check all brassica plants regularly and remove any eggs or caterpillars of cabbage white butterflies
Apply liquid fertilizer to “hungry”crops such as cabbages, zucchini, tomatoes…

second crops

My parents are staying with us this week so on Sunday we did what we usually do when we want to show people a good time: we took them to our allotment. We even let them help with assorted garden jobs: my mom picked black currants, while my father created a supporting net for my annual cut flowers. Because they insisted, we also let them cook dinner later. To top the week off we are planning to hand over the kids to them on Sunday and disappear to Oslo for a week on a romantic holiday.
Now I bet that you want to come and stay at our place too?

calendula
Because we are going to be gone in the second half of July, there are many things to be done before we can leave, such as eat as much lettuce as possible because otherwise it’s gonna bolt.
Before our departure, I also aim to pull out any crops that have more or less finished and replant or resow the beds with new crops to harvest in fall. The broad bean patch was already replanted with leeks which will benefit from the extra nitrogen left behind by the nitrogen-fixing beans.

leeks for planting

After pulling out garlic and shallots, I will replant with kale because plants from the onion family help prevent club root to which brassicas are susceptible on our light soil. I am also sowing endive and radicchio which I will thin out later and use the spare plants to fill any gaps in the garden.

zucchini
Unless the summer is very wet, watering will also be necessary. We aim to water just once or twice a week but thoroughly, which means about 20 liters per square meter. In our absence, my in-laws will occasionally come to water the garden in exchange for picking any ripe tomatoes and zucchini.

Happy gardening!

 

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