August 1st Week

According to My Middleton in Dig On For Victory we have 10 tasks this week :

1) Use Onions. - Don't leave them in the soil to split. Use autumn-sown onions when ready.

2) Sow Cabbage, Spinach and Lettuce. - Sow spring cabbage now to plant out in September or October. Sow winter spinach. Sow lettuce in a cold frame for late use.

3) Earth-up Celery. - Earth up celery gradually 3inches at a time in fortnightly intervals. Spray with Bordeaux mixture at the first sign of celery blight. Discourage slugs.

4) Sow Onions. - Sow onions now for an early crop next year. Choose a sheltered spot to offer winter protection. 

5) Help on Tomatoes. - Spray with Bordeaux mixture to protect from blight.

6) Prune Blackcurrants.- Once clear of fruit they should be pruned.
  

7) Destroy Wasp Nests. - This assumes that wasps are attacking your fruit and that you can find their nest.

8) Dig New Strawberry Bed.- Prepare new strawberry bed incorporating manure and bone meal. Cut off unwanted runners.

9) Attack Fruit Pests.- If present, spray apple trees for woolly aphis with nicotine. Use inverted plant pots with either pieces of broad bean stem or straw in them to trap earwigs attacking wall fruit. 

10) Sow Corn Salad. - Sow corn salad (lamb's lettuce) in rows, 1 foot apart.

2017 - Finally got around to pruning the Jerusalem Artichokes down to the 4 feet in height mark. Harvested more Arran Pilot potatoes. Cleared the onion bed and planted broad beans in their place. Completed a lot of weeding but must keep on top of it. Checked on the compost bins to check on their various stages of decomposition to see which is ready first for using as a mulch.
In the kitchen I have blackcurrants to transform into jam, courgette into spicy fritters whilst making sure none of my harvests go to waste.