Gardening Tasks for August

Time to sit back and enjoy the summer in your garden – but don’t forget to keep dead-heading, feeding and watering.

• Hoe and weed borders regularly, particularly in dry weather, so that weeds don’t have chance to set seed
• Liquid feed all containers and hanging baskets weekly to keep them producing fresh buds
• Deadhead Dahlias and other perennials and annuals to encourage flowering
• Prune rambling roses once they’ve finished flowering, removing around a third of new growth, and tie in the rest
• Consider installing a drip irrigation system to help watering. These are usually permitted during hosepipe bans.
• Keep tucking in sweet peas to encourage them to cling to their support, and pick blooms regularly
• Strim or mow wildflower meadows now that plants have set seed
• Dead head roses, and check for pests such as aphids
• Keep a close eye out for vine weevil damage and treat as appropriate
• Take cuttings of Penstemons and other plants that may not survive the winter
• Plant out well rooted strawberry runners to replace older plants
• Sow small batches of salad leaves, rocket and radish for a succession of crops in to autumn
• Plant seed potatoes for a fresh Christmas crop
• Sow green manures to empty veg garden patches to improve soil nutrition
• Lift onions and shallots and leave for the sun to dry them
• Keep doors and vents open on polytunnels and greenhouses to stop plants getting too hot
• Apply shade screening to greenhouses or put up netting
• Damp down the floor of greenhouses on hot days to increase humidity
• Feed tomatoes, chillies and cucumbers weekly and tie in as necessary, pinching out side shoots of tomatoes and cucumbers
• Top up birdbaths, ponds and water features regularly
• Trim garden hedges now that birds have finished nesting
• Mow lawns regularly and raise the cutting blade a notch in dry weather
• Use a paving brush to clear weeds from paths and patios