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Thompson & Morgan: Andrew Tokely's Weekly Gardening Blog

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What a scorcher this week has been, great for topping up the tan whilst tending the plot or borders, as well making everything grow. I can almost see my onions and courgettes grow overnight. Although there are still plenty of jobs to do, take some time out to sit, relax and enjoy your garden and this glorious spell of weather whilst it lasts.

I like to sow my lettuce in pots under glass every 2-3 weeks and then prick out (transplant) the required amount into modular trays to grow on before planting out on the plot. When the weather is as hot as it has been lately, the germination of lettuce seeds can be very hit and miss especially when the temperature is above 70F (21C). A handy tip is to put the packets of seed into the fridge the day before you wish to sow them, this will chill down the seed and the germination is then much improved when sown the next day.

dead-heading-roses

Dead Heading Roses

The roses in the garden have been spectacular this year, they have been blooming all though June and still have plenty of buds left to open. To ensure the display continues as long as possible, it is important to remove any dead flower heads as soon as the blooms finish. This will stop the old head from producing a rose hip, and will encourage the plants to shoot out from lower down, giving a second flush of blooms. After deadheading I will also be giving the bushes a high potash feed to encourage more flowers. This feed can be applied as a granular rose fertiliser sprinkled around the plants and watered in, or you could use a liquid feed like tomato food.

The autumn sown Japanese onions are now ready for lifting. I like to lift these, clean them up and tie the bulbs into bunches and then hang them in a dry, airy shed or garage. Remember to use these first throughout the next few months, as these will not store as well as your spring-sown onions or sets. Shallots planted last autumn will also be ready for lifting, if you have not already done so.

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Carrots Growing Well on the Plot

The carrots sown on my plot earlier in the year have grown very well and I am already pulling some sweet roots to munch upon. Looking ahead, as us gardeners do, if you have some vacant spaces on the vegetable plot you can now sow some early maturing carrots such as Nigel or Early Nantes. These will be ready for harvesting as fresh young new carrots at Christmas. When sowing seeds at this time of year make sure you water the base of the seed drills before sowing the seed, ensuring there is enough moisture for the seeds to germinate during dry spells.

My first batches of peas, broad beans, lettuce and Hispi cabbage have now finished, leaving me some space on the plot. Some of this space will be taken up with further sowings of dwarf French Beans. Sown now, these beans will be ready to harvest in 10 to 12 weeks, providing me with fresh beans to harvest by late summer or early autumn. If you don't have room on your plot, sow some in containers and grow them on your sunny patio.

radish-seedlings

My Radish Seedlings

Other sowings that can be made to keep the plot full are radish. These will germinate very quickly, like the ones I sowed seven days ago, and will be ready to harvest in 28 days. I will also be making sowings of Swiss Chard, beetroot, spinach and salad leaves, as it is far easier to keep a plot clean when full of produce. Like the carrots I mentioned earlier, it is better to water the base of the drills rather than the soil surface, as this will put the moisture where the seeds need it and avoid the soil 'capping' and getting hard.

In my new garden I have some Bearded Iris which finished flowering a few weeks ago. As these are quite large clumps they are ready to be lifted carefully with a fork and divided. Once lifted, cut away any old dormant growth, together with any dead or diseased foliage, and old flower stalks and throw these away. You can then keep the vigorous young green offshoots. Trim back the foliage of these offshoots by half into an arrow-shape to help reduce moisture loss. Then replant in an area of the garden where they will get full sun. Bearded Irises should be planted quite shallowly with the rhizomes sitting just on the soil surface, so they can get sun baked for better flowering.

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Water Feature in my Garden

Finally this week, after all the planting of summer bedding in early June and the watering and weeding since, the bedding display in my new garden is really getting together. One of my borders around the water feature is already looking very colourful and there are still Cosmos, African Marigolds and Antirrhinums to come into bloom. I have some of the best Busy Lizzie plants I have ever grown in this and another border. To ensure this display keeps looking as good as this I make sure the plants don't suffer in the heat by giving them a good watering at least twice a week. It is far better to give them a really good soak rather than just a splash, as this will encourage the roots to go down and put up with the hotter temperatures, rather than stay close to the surface.

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Busy Lizzies in my Garden Border

Listen to Andrew on BBC Radio Suffolk on Saturdays between 8.00 and 9.00am.