August in the garden
Hi ,
The school summer holidays have finally arrived, and with it, some lovely weather in the past week.
After working so diligently on growing delicious tomatoes in your garden this season, make sure that with the increased humidity and warmer evenings, you create some ventilation to avoid blight setting in. Stripping off some of the lower leaves at this stage will help at this stage, plus a top-up of tomato feed will do the world of good too.
This month, I will be at the Southport Flower Show to celebrate 100 years of their wonderful flower show. Come along to catch me talking about all the benefits that houseplants have on our physical and mental well-being on Saturday the 17th of August. Book your tickets here.
And at the end of the month, I will be back at the Belvoir Castle Flower Show, giving more of my expert talks on the 31st of August and the 1st of September. Make sure to book your tickets now and come along.
Find out my seasonal gardening advice from my website and YouTube channel. And make sure you like, subscribe, and switch on notifications so you stay up to date with all my new videos.
Happy gardening!
David
All about roses
Find out everything you need to know about growing roses in your garden.
Gardening tip of the month
Care for and harvest courgettes
Make sure you harvest your courgettes before they become marrows this season.
Watering for a win
The key to success with courgettes is constantly moist soil. Without this, courgettes will only produce male flowers, when female flowers are needed to produce the fruit.
Try mulching to keep moisture in the soil. Water close to the soil to avoid the spread of fungal diseases too.
Feeding your food
Ensuring your plants have plenty of nutrition to keep them growing healthy and strong is such an important step.
A weekly high-potash feed such as tomato food will encourage flowering, which will then produce delicious fruits. Every 10 to 14 days should be perfect.
How and why to time
Make sure you crop at the right time, when the fruit is between 10 to 12.5 cm in length. If you don’t, they will grow into marrows.
Courgettes are more flavourful when smaller. The plant will produce more regularly at courgette size, and the harvesting period will be extended, so make sure you don’t miss the courgette cropping window.
How to harvest courgettes
Use a sharp knife to cut them at the base, or sharply twist them off the stalk. They should crop regularly at this time of year.
These courgettes can then be used in a variety of meals, such as made into courgette spaghetti, baked into cakes, included in a cosy roast dinner, or shredded to add to summer salads.
New video from David
Watch this latest video from David explaining how Wonderwall’s Living Walls can almost instantly transform eyesores in your garden.
Watch this video
Alliums are such wonderful ornamental garden plants, with their pompom-shaped flower heads. Find out the answers to Google’s most asked questions about these striking blooms.
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Congratulations to the winners!
Keep your eyes peeled for more blogs, videos, competitions and winner announcements throughout August.
David Domoney is a Chartered Horticulturalist, Broadcaster, and Author. David has worked with a number of the UK’s leading garden retailers as a plant buyer and strategic consultant. With more than 30 years experience, in horticulture, David is as passionate about plants now as he was when he bought his first plant at a village fete.
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