Terry Walton is busy harvesting and keeping an eye out for those plant pests
It's a rewarding month, but don't forget to keep an eye on those pesky pests!
Many of the plants, like the runner beans, French beans, courge es, marrows, squashes and pumpkins, have relished the recent pleasant warmth and found a renewed vigour in their growth. They’re seeking to outdo each other in their quest to produce abundant, perfect harvests. Tomato skins have gone a bright red in the sunshine and there’s no need for the suntan oil to protect them! All is again at its best in our small allotment world.
We can now look forward to August with great expectations, as this month of ever-growing harvests looms upon us. The daily routine of August days changes significantly and the tasks become less. The pace of planting and sowing slows to a trickle and the hours of daylight continue to shrink.
August can be very warm but the longer nights are cooler and we may already be feeling the breath of autumn. But no need to panic, the summer hasn’t gone yet; enjoy your bountiful harvests. It’s a relaxed time on the plot and our endeavours are being rewarded. A ack a few weeds with your trusty hoe and leave them to shrivel in the midday sun.
The garlic crop has been harvested and produced some super bulbs this year. The individual cloves within are fat and plump and they taste fabulous when eaten soon after picking.
Spread the crop out in the sunshine to let it ripen fully and it’ll reward you with winterlong flavour to many dishes.
All isn’t plain sailing though, for many garden pests are planning survival tactics for the long winter ahead and are seeking young and tender plants to gorge on.
Pre y cabbage white bu erflies fill the air with abundance as they seek out your winter brassicas on which to deposit clutches of eggs. This late crop of caterpillars will soon munch their way through your Brussels sprouts before clambering off to dry places in sheds, where they overhang to pupate in winter. The aphids are multiplying at an enormous rate, believing in the principal that the more there are the more will survive the winter. Carrot root fly is also on the lookout for late crops to raise its young so that it can be sure to plague us again next season.
Use all the weapons in your armoury to combat these pests; fingers and thumbs will be working overtime crushing these blighters. The high-pressure sprayer will be daily in use washing colonies off the plants and halting their multiplication.
Vigilance is the perfect antidote to controlling garden pests. Have no fear – ‘they’ll be back’!