July 2nd Week

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

1) Lift Shallots ; Plant Leeks. - Lift shallots when ready. They should be allowed to mature completely with their foliage dying right down. When thoroughly ripe lift and turn roots up to the sun for a day or so to dry off thoroughly. Continue planting leeks.
2) Thin Rows of Seedlings. - Crops sown in June , such as carrots, turnips, beet or lettuce will need thinning out to the required distances apart.
3) Sow Spring Cabbage in North. - The first spring cabbage should be sown now in northern parts of the country as its too early to sow in the south as yet.
4) Plant Winter Greens. - do successional sowings of lettuce, radish and spinach. Sow as intercrops between late planted greens. Sow Batavian endive in seed trays or a frame to be transplanted outside when ready .
5) Lift Potatoes. - lift earlies as required. He suggests to select suitable ones for seed if the stock was new this year - don't expose to light for some time yet and put in a cool place.
6) Fertilize and Water Peas. - tall peas need a dressing of general fertilizer, or mix one up of superphosphate and sulphate of potash. Water in dry weather. Peas that are podding up need watering to help the pods swell. Keep the rows weeded.
7) Sow Parsley. - Sow now for winter use but make sure
8) Hunt Caterpillars. - caterpillars on cabbage should be destroyed otherwise they will reproduce and more will attack your crop in August and autumn.
9) Pick Broad Beans. - Pick broad beans as ready. Any early sowings which have finished should be pulled up now. He advises to chop the stems and put them on the compost heap but to retain a few to use for trapping earwigs when they attack fruit.
10) Examine and Prune Fruit Trees, and Destroy Pests. - carry on with summer pruning. Protect cherry trees from bird attacks. Spray with a nicotine spray for green fly if there are signs present of them in the tree. (Mr middleton suggests spraying with lead arsenate to control the codlin moth - due to its toxicity lead arsenate in no longer used in Britain.) . Tie sack bands around trunks of trees to trap apple blossom weevil and codlin moth - these pests go in to hibernation now and the bands provide a suitable place - leave in place until November then remove the bands from trees and burn them. Layer strawberry runners as necessary, cut off unwanted runners.


2017