Veg you can still sow in summer

DON’T think all your seed sowing needs to be done in spring, because there’s plenty of growing to do in early summer as well. Here are some of the veg you can still be growing during warmer days...

1. CATCH CROPS

There may be plenty of space on your patch after you’ve harvested spring veg, or while slower-growing edibles aren’t pushing you for space, which you can use to plant fast-growing catch crops such as radishes and salad leaves, to fill the gaps between rows.

2. TENDER TYPES

Veg which won’t tolerate frost include French and climbing beans, which can be sown outside now (although sooner rather than later), along with shelling peas.

You’ve left it a bit late to sow tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and chillies, so buy a few plants at garden centres or your local nursery and plant them in growbags, containers or a sheltered border, in plenty of rich organic matter, and keep them well fed and watered.

Some tomatoes can be planted outside as late as July after sowing inside in June, and will start cropping after another six weeks. If you sow varieties such as Crimson Crush and Nagina, which have some blight resistance, in

June and then plant them outside in mid-July, they should start to crop in early-September and continue to crop until the end of October. Sweetcorn can still be sown outside in June if the soil temperature is above 10C (50F), or buy a few plants to get you started.

3. QUICK CROPS

If you love hot and peppery additions to your salads, sow radishes successionally up to August. Some varieties, such as ‘French Breakfast’, will be ready to harvest in three to four weeks.

Sow thinly in rows and thin the seedlings to 2.5cm (1in) apart, keeping them well watered and the area well weeded, and pick them when you need them. But don’t leave them too long or they will become tough and woody.

Salad leaves, including rocket and cut-and-come-again varieties, are ideal to sow successionally every two or three weeks, to pick young as you need them.

4. REGULAR FAVOURITES

You can still sow carrots outside now, but beware of carrot fly when thinning existing seedlings. You may want to protect your crop with horticultural fleece or insect netting. For quick, late crops, sow an early variety in July and earlyAugust and cover with fleece in the autumn to prolong the growing season. Beetroot can also be sown outdoors through to July.

5. PLANNING AHEAD

If you love spring-hearting cabbage, sow seeds in July and August in an outdoor seedbed, then thin out the seedlings and transplant the rest to their final place in September and earlyOctober. You should be enjoying the harvest by April and May next year.