Oh we do love a good Bank Holiday weekend! Especially at this time of year when you are just itching to get out into the garden. This weekend, don’t forget to do these five jobs…(we’d usually only give you three jobs, but you have an extra day this weekend!)
- Give your plants a jolly good watering. The weather has been fairly dry for a while, and unless you’ve given them a seep watering in the last few days, they will be beginning to feel the effect. Have a read of our When to Water guide for some top tips.
- Get weeding! This is the time of year when weeds make a real nuisance of themselves, and you don’t want them taking nutrients and water away from your veg. An onion hoe is the best tool for weeding between rows of veg plants, and it’ll be a lot easier if you water the soil slightly first.
- Add a mulch. Once you’ve weeded and watered it’s a good idea to add a mulch to keep the moisture in the soil and prevent new weeds from putting in an appearance over the next few weeks.
- Go on a pest patrol. Take the time to explore your veg patch and see if any plants are struggling. If they are, there might be a pest at work, like aphids. It’s worth putting in some preventative measures too if you have the time – make some brassica collars for broccoli, put netting up to keep birds away etc.
- Think about succession planting to keep your veg patch going over the summer. It might be worth planting a second batch of leeks and onions, for example. Even if you haven’t got your first veg plants in the ground yet, it’s a good idea to have this plan in the back of your head so that you can leave space where necessary for a second planting mission!