08
Late summer
What to plant in August
Dahlias, rudbeckia, sweet peas at full tilt. The veg patch hands you more than you can carry.
Sow indoors
Nothing this month — rest!
Sow outdoors
- Winter lettuce
- Lamb's lettuce
- Spring cabbage
- Spinach
- Oriental greens (pak choi, mizuna)
- Spring onions
Flowers to plant
- Cornflowers (for next May)
- Larkspur
- Calendula
- Poppies
Herbs to grow
- Coriander (autumn picks)
- Parsley
- Chervil
Beginner tips
- ✦Trim lavender now (not into old wood) and it stays compact for years.
- ✦Save tomato seeds from your favourite fruit — pulp them, dry on kitchen paper.
Common mistakes
- ✕Letting courgettes turn into marrows — they sap the plant.
- ✕Watering tomatoes erratically — split fruit and blossom-end rot follow.
Small garden & pot options
- · Plant a pot of autumn-sown sweet peas at the end of the month
- · Sow lamb's lettuce in a window box
Raised bed suggestions
- · Sow winter salads where summer crops have finished
- · Spring cabbage seedlings 30 cm apart
Plant this month
If you only do one thing in August…
- →Strawberry runners
- →Spring cabbage seedlings
- →Autumn-flowering bulbs
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