Your Organic Garden in August

August is the time of bumper harvests in all parts of the garden. Lettuces, beans, potatoes and peas all waiting to be harvested and enjoyed. Flower colours tend toward hot yellows, oranges and purples. We are almost in autumn, so take a little time to savour the delights of summer.

Water well in dry spells–especially beans, cucumbers, marrows, leeks and celery. But watch out for potato and tomato blight, as well as mildew, in warm, damp weather.

Soil matters

A well composted soil, full of organic matter, holds water well, even in dry spells. Keep mulching–with lawn cuttings, light layer of compost or even straw and last year’s leaf mould–and only add mulches after watering.

Now is the perfect time to sow green manures, especially if you have bare soil after harvesting. Plants such as vetch and clover will rapidly cover bare patches and fix nitrogen from the air onto root nodules. Be sure to dig them in after flowering and before seed sets. Phacelia can be sown now, will germinate quickly, and its beautiful lilac flowers are a magnet for bees and other useful insects. Keep hoeing off weeds before they flower and set seed. Add them to the compost heap. See below for composting perennial weeds, such as docks and dandelions.

Composting

The compost heap should be a mix of brown and green material in a roughly 50:50 ratio. If your heap is dry, water it and then add grass clippings, nettles or comfrey leaves to speed up the decomposition process. If too wet, scrumpled cardboard or shredded/ scrunched up paper will create air pockets and prevent lawn cuttings going slimey.

Perennial weeds have roots full of minerals. Don’t waste them. Add the foliage to the compost bin, and stuff the roots into a plastic sack. Add water or a urine/ water mix (1 part urine/20 parts water) and tie the sack top. Leave for a month or two, until the weeds are sludgy. This gloop can now be added to the compost.

Vegetables

Runner beans failing to set is due to lack of moisture at the roots. In dry weather, water well, at a rate of 5-10lt /sq m into the soil, twice a week. Contrary to popular belief, spraying flowers with water does not increase flower set. Plants grown over a winter compost trench will be especially happy with their roots embedded in a rich and moist environment. It is normal for runner beans to produce more flowers than can possibly set as beans; expect a 50% loss.

Tie in tomatoes, keep pinching out side shoots, and take off the top shoot to stop after the final truss. Keep feeding with liquid comfrey feed once a week.

Earth up and stake tall winter greens

Cut away old leaves from squashes and pumpkins to help fruits ripen

Harvest garlic, shallots and onions.

Fruit

Keep soil around fruit trees and bushes in good condition, especially in hot dry spells this month. Container grown plants and those on dwarfing rootstocks are especially vulnerable in dry weather.

Mulch well, but always onto wet soil.

Leave a gap around the stem or trunk to allow air flow. Grass mowings, leafmould, rough compost and similar materials are all suitable mulches. This will help retain moisture, suppress weeds, and improve the soil.

Prune plum and damson trees after fruiting. Cut out any material that is dead or diseased. Pruning plums now will reduce the risk of infection by the fungal disease Silver Leaf (Chondrostereum purpureum).

Herbs

Cut back chives if showing signs of rust (orange patches up the stems). New, clean shoots will quickly re-grow.

Prune out curled and folded leaves on bay trees to remove bay sucker eggs and nymphs. Rake up leaf litter around trees/shrubs to further remove affected leaves harbouring the insects. Remove mint plants showing signs of rust. This disease will persist over winter and re-infect plants next year. Re-plant with new stock and in a different part of the garden. If growing in containers, scrub out before re-using. Basil, parsley and coriander can still be sown this month.

Flowers

Continue to hoe off weeds as they sprout. Foliage, never seed heads, can be composted. Spring-flowering bulbs provide early season food for bees and other essential pollinators. They are in the catalogues now.

August is the last month to prune ornamental trees (such as ornamental cherries, mountain ash) if they need it. This allows wounds to heal before winter and avoid the risk of silver leaf disease.

Greenhouse

Avoid splashing water onto leaves when you irrigate. Moisture triggers spore germination of fungal diseases, such as mildews and grey mould (botrytis). Use biological controls to deal with greenhouse pests. Order the controls as soon as you notice the pests; don’t wait for an infestation to build up. Use the predatory mite Phytoseiulius for red spider mite, the tiny wasp Aphidius for Aphids, the predatory mite Hypoaspis for control of sciarid fly, the parasitic wasp Encarsia for white fly and Cryptolaemus beetles for mealybugs. While you wait for them to arrive, rub off any pests you see.

Lawn/hedge care

Grass is a drought survivor. Let it go brown in dry weather, as it will recover very quickly when temperatures drop and rain arrives. Watering lawns with sprinklers is hugely wasteful.

Ponds

Keep your eyes peeled for water-lily aphids. Blast them off with a jet of water.

Gardening information from www.gardenorganic.org.uk

Forthcoming Events 2022 & 2023

September

7th 12 .30pm Micheldever Village Lunch – Northbrook Hall

7th 7 30pm Micheldever Parish Council – East Stratton Hall

17th 1 .00pm Micheldever Summer Fête – Lord Rank Playing Field

13th 8 00pm History Society, The Impact of the Black Death - The Warren Centre

21st 9 .30am Wonston Community Café – Victoria Hall, Sutton Scotney

24th 7 00pm Safari Supper

29th 6 .30pm Kiftsgate Gardens (See advert opposite for tickets) – East Stratton Hall

October

5th 12 .30pm Micheldever Village Lunch – Northbrook Hall

5th 7 30pm Micheldever Parish Council – Northbrook Hall

November

2nd 12 .30pm Micheldever Village Lunch – Northbrook Hall

2nd 7 .30pm Micheldever Parish Council – The Warren Centre

December

7th 7 .30pm Micheldever Parish Council – East Stratton Hall

14th 12 .30pm Micheldever Village Lunch – Northbrook Hall

2023

January

4th 7 .30pm Micheldever Parish Council – Northbrook Hall

February

1st 7 .30pm Micheldever Parish Council – The Warren Centre

March

1st 7 .30pm Micheldever Parish Council – East Stratton Hall

April

19th 7 .30pm Parish Assembly – Northbrook Hall

Hall Booking

East Stratton Hall 01962 774517, Northbrook Hall 07731 952705, The Warren Centre visit www thewarrencentre co uk/hire

Mobile Post Office

Regular Dates and Times – Weekly

SUNDAYS Church Services Details on centre pages

TUESDAYS 8.00–9.00 pm Circuit Training by Toppe from T Fit Training, Micheldever School Hall. contact Jane 07919 018877

WEDNESDAYS 9.30–10.30 am Mobile Post Office, Lord Rank Car Park, Micheldever 9.00–10.00 am Body Control Pilates–Micheldever Village Hall. contact Fredricka Brooks, 07979 254895

THURSDAYS 8.00–10.00 pm Dever Singers Rehearsal–Micheldever or South Wonston churches . contact, ruthironton@gmail.com

2.00–4.00 pm Community Library, Northbrook Hall