Midsummer garden jobs

Do a little, often, to keep your plot flourishing

- Ruth

THERE is so much to do in the garden at this time of year that prioritising what to do, and when, is a job in itself.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed so I try to spend a little time each day keeping the garden on track, taking time to tick off those simple, but never-ending, bread-and-butter tasks, including weeding, feeding, watering, deadheading and controlling pests and diseases.

This week I also finally got round to repotting an ailing bay tree that has been languishing in a container and looking sad since the winter.

To be fair, it had been in the same compost for a couple of years so it was rootbound and starving, and it perked up within a few days of having its roots in fresh growing media (Sylvagrow multipurpose with added Vitax Q4).

Watering is critical now and at the time of writing we haven’t had any rain for several weeks so the ground is parched and hard.

We have several water butts that we are working our way through and are also using grey water where we can (see page 5). Prioritise your watering, concentrating on crop plants and new plantings,because trees, shrubs and established perennials should have good root systems that can tap into water supplies deep in the soil.

Keep feeding edible plants, pinching out side tomato shoots and tying in beans as they grow. Get ready to harvest soft fruits and courgettes.

As well as plants in their prime, tackle early flowering varieties that are going over. It isn’t too late to give the Chelsea chop where needed to tidy up sprawling perennials and encourage them to flower again later in summer.

The second flush of blooms may not be as big and as bold as their earlier burst, but it will add late-summer colour when other plants may have faded for the year.