Summer On The Veg Patch

By Emma Sousa

Hopefully by now you’re harvesting lots of veggies from the vegetable patch - sometimes this time of year there’s so much produce coming through you can’t keep up with it all. Whatever you do, don’t waste it! You can swap it with your neighbours for something you don’t grow that they do, preserve things (freeze berries, make jams and chutneys), and stock up for the winter months when fresh produce is limited to root vegetables. Store potatoes in a cool dark place in large paper sacks and you can have a steady supply of them way into the autumn and winter.

Just make the most of this time of abundance. A lot of people go away during the month of August so harvest crops, and before you go away give everything an extra good soaking: if you have a friend or neighbour who fancies some free produce get them to water crops and benefit from some homegrown veggies too. You can still sow plenty of crops during August - salad leaves including lettuce and rocket, spinach, chard for autumn, winter and spring cropping and you can also plant out kale and leeks when it starts to cool a bit. If you grow strawberries, transplant the runners now for next year for fresh crops.

If you can keep on top of weeding - a regular, light hoe of the surface done on a regular basis will keep them at bay - the hot dry weather will soon wilt them and there’s no need to spend hours on your knees picking them all out individually. Keep composting, make the most of rainy days by ensuring all water butts are in working order, but most of all enjoy this time of year when the crops are a-coming, and the sun is a-shining!