Sloe Berries

If you’re spending lots of time in your garden during August, or maybe you’re having a ‘staycation’ this year, we hope our handy list of tips will help you get the most out of your garden!

1. Look After The Lawn – At this time of year the lawn can look rather used and hard done to, so rake out the old grass and keep it watered. Mow the lawn lightly to avoid stressing it too much and  apply treatments according to expert advice!

2. Sow Green Manure – Bare patches of soil or finished beds can be sown with cost-effective and eco-friendly summer green manure to preserve nutrients and to keep the weeds down such as clover and fenugreek.

3. Dry Herbs – Cut back herbs to encourage a second flush and keep an eye on rocket, basil and parsley which can be prone to bolting at this time of year. If you have oregano and marjoram in the garden and it’s flowering, now is the best time for drying – cut the stems, tie with string, and hang upside down somewhere dry, well ventilated and dark for about a week, then store in jars for winter. You can do a similar thing with flowers such as lavender to make draw scent bags or potpourri.

4. Dead Heading – It’s really vital to keep up with the dead-heading to prevent your blooms from running to seed. Dispose of the dead-heads in the compost bin or the garden recycling rather than leaving them on the ground where they might encourage and spread disease.

5. Prune Away – If you prune now then your plants won’t grow too much before the winter saving you going out later in the year when it’s all a bit worse for wear.

6. Think Fruity! – In August our hedgerows are teeming with wild fruits from blackberries and plums to crab apples and sloes – perfect for making all sorts of desserts, jams and liqueurs for Christmas. If you have fruit bushes in your garden then make sure that they kept clear of any pests that could harm your crop.

7. Get planting those winter vegetables – Now is the time to plant out some winter veg favourites try cavelo nero, Swiss chard, oriental vegetables, turnips and spring cabbage for a rainbow platter of vegetables – enough to brighten up any long winter evening and keep the family fed with healthy delights!

We hope you enjoy our handy hints and tips and if we can be of any assistance with supporting you choose the perfect sprayer for this important gardening jobs, we’d love to help you at www.agratech.co.uk