August, the month of too much. When fruiting vegetables are in full flow and allotment neighbours may leave marrows on tables at the end of their plot.
Plums, apples and pears should start to come on stream this month. August is also when I regret we stopped growing tomatoes. Burnt by the heartbreak of blight. Our close neighbours are reaping rewards though, so we’ll maybe try again next year.
Any peas and beans should be in abundance, though try to remember to pinch out climbing bean tops. It’s also time to harvest chillies, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers.
Kala’s red Thai corn is doing well in our old broad bean bed. We will wait until the silks turn colour though I am impatient to taste them. We’ll perhaps cook a couple on a camp stove at the plot.
August is the time to lift alliums: garlic, onions, shallots, and lay them on open sunny soil to dry before storing for winter.
Courgettes and squashes will also be ready. Remember, today’s courgette is tomorrow’s marrow, they say. Pumpkins will also need feeding for autumn harvest.
August is not all about abundance. Try to keep back a few peas and beans for seed for next year’s sowing. The same with herbs such as coriander and dill. Homegrown flowers, too. Saving our tagetes, calendula and nasturtium seed is maybe my favourite garden thing. Saving seed is also recommended for small gifts and swaps.
Here, a shortish August to-do list for autumn: sow oriental leaves (mizuna, mibuna, purple and red mustards etc). Sow chicories, chards, cabbages, kales, spinach, where you have made room. Plus, rocket, lettuces, other salads too. There are many good readymade mixes online and in stores. It’s also likely your last chance to sow carrot and turnip crops.
Lastly, a small plea to keep any ponds topped up. Try to keep up with weeding and watering. And enjoy a happy harvest.
Allan Jenkins’s Plot 29 (4th Estate, £9.99) is out now. Order it for £8.49 from guardianbookshop.com
