In July, Lancashire gardeners should focus on watering, pest control, and harvesting. Consistent watering, especially for containers and hanging baskets, is crucial. Deadheading flowers and pruning back growth encourages further blooms. Harvesting vegetables like beans, courgettes, and raspberries is also a key activity this month. Additionally, keep an eye out for pests and diseases, and take action promptly
- Ensure all plants, including flower beds, containers, and hanging baskets, receive adequate water, according to Beetham Nurseries.
- Water deeply and less frequently rather than shallowly and often. Agriframes suggests
- Consider using mulch to retain moisture in the soil and watering at dusk to reduce evaporation. Agriframes recommends
- Pay particular attention to containers and hanging baskets, which can dry out quickly, especially in hot weather.
- If you’re going on holiday, set up an automatic watering system.
- Deadhead bedding plants, sweet peas, and repeat-flowering perennials to encourage continuous blooms
- Cut back growth in hanging baskets and containers to promote new flowers.
- Feed plants after pruning to encourage new growth and revitalize displays.
- Apply summer lawn weed, feed, and moss killer if needed.
- Rake out dead grass, moss, and weeds from your lawn and borders.
- Check for and treat Clematis Wilt on Clematis plants.
- Don’t forget to stop cordon tomatoes by removing the main shoot above the fourth truss (outdoors) or seventh truss (indoors).
- Secure climbing vegetables to supports.
- Earth up celery plants.
- Harvest vegetables like beans, courgettes, and raspberries as they ripen.
- Pick strawberries as they ripen, and protect them from birds with netting.
Pest and Disease Control:
- Be vigilant for signs of pests and diseases and take action promptly.
- Treat Apple Scab by pruning out affected shoots and disposing of leaves.
- Sow quick-growing crops like radish, French beans, soybeans, and carrots.
- Sow spring cabbage, turnips, Oriental vegetables, chicory, fennel, and autumn/winter salads.
- Sow spring-flowering perennial seeds in trays filled with compost.
- Keep terracotta pots damp to keep the roots cool.
- Feed herb pots regularly as they will be root-bound.
- Consider making your own liquid feed from comfrey plants.
- Trim lavender after flowering.
- Top up bird baths, ponds, and water features.
- Make provisions for houseplants while on holiday.