Things to do in the garden this month by Ian Clemens
- Continue earthing-up potatoes and harden off outdoor tomatoes, courgettes and pumpkins for planting early next month.
- Thin out direct-sown vegetables such as spinach, carrot and lettuce seedlings then water the rows well.
- Plant out brassicas and leeks to their final positions.
- Weed around your onions and garlic to reduce competition for nutrients and water. Applying an onion fertiliser will boost growth.
- Hang pheromone traps in plum and apple trees.
- Surround strawberries with straw to protect fruit and net them to keep birds off.
- Erect netting around your soft fruit plants to prevent birds eating your crop.
- Remove blossom and fruits from newly planted fruit trees to allow them to establish properly during their first year.
- Take cuttings of tender perennials such as Fuchsia, Argyranthemum and Pelargoniums (geraniums).
- Harden off half-hardy plants by leaving them outside during the day and bringing back under cover at night for 7 to 10 days before planting outdoors.
- Don’t be tempted to cut down or tie up the foliage of spring-flowering bulbs, let them die down naturally.
