Posted: 13 July 2024
Author: Smith's Garden Centre
If you’re looking to remove moss, weeds and improve the overall appearance of your lawn this July we recommend avoiding any prolonged dry spells.
Before treating your lawn, it is best to mow it and wait for a couple of days before applying a weed & feed treatment.
To treat your lawn, apply a lawn specific weed and feed such as Evergreen Complete 4 in 1, you will need to water this in thoroughly the day after the application.
This treatment will begin to kill any weeds and moss present within the lawn. After three days you can mow the lawn, and after two weeks you can begin to rake out any dead matter that has blackened and died. Your grass is likely to blacken temporarily in the first 7 days.
The Nitrogen and Potassium within the treatment will then promote stronger growth for a greener and thicker lawn. For any large patches left behind after the treatment, you can begin to sow new grass seed.
By now, your First early potatoes should be ready to lift, and some second early potatoes such as Maris Peer and Charlotte may be ready to lift now.
Simply use a garden fork to dig up any potatoes grown in the ground, being careful not to run through any with your fork.
Be sure to discard any green potatoes into your garden waste. Alternatively, you can chop them into small pieces before putting them into your own garden compost.
As your tomato plants grow, they will need support to keep them upright and prevent them from sprawling on the ground. Use stakes to support your plants, and tie them loosely to the support as they grow.
Pruning your tomato plants can also help improve their health and yield. Pinch off any suckers that grow between the main stem and the branches, as these can divert energy away from fruit production. A sucker is a shoot that forms in the joint where a leaf meets the stem.
For more tomato plant growing tips, see our growing tomatoes blog.
Your garden birds should have now fledged their nests, and you can begin pruning and shaping the hedging in your garden.
Some strawberry varieties have already had their last pick of the year. Once your strawberry plants have finished cropping, you can cut them back to around 2-3cm above the ground. This helps prevent any runners growing throughout the rest of the season, and allows them to reshoot from the crown.
Flowering summer bedding plants such as Osteospermum, Geraniums and Petunias will all benefit from continual deadheading throughout the summer season. Remove any dead flowers with secateurs or your fingers to allow fresh growth and for new flower buds to form.
Some perennials such as Coreopsis, Geums and Scabiosa will all benefit from being deadheaded too.
Without deadheading, plants will take longer to drop their spent flowers, and new buds will take longer to bloom.
Some varieties of taller perennials with heavy flowers will require support to prevent their stems from breaking. Using plant supports or garden canes can prevent damage to these plants and maintain their shapes in your garden pots and borders.
Climbing plants will require tying to their supports as they begin to put on new growth throughout the summer. Simply use garden twine, or a soft plant tie that won’t damage the stems.
Summer bedding in pots and hanging baskets will benefit from a liquid feed every couple of weeks during the summer season. We recommend using a form of liquid seaweed, or Vitax Tub & Hanging Basket Liquid.
House plants will benefit from a specialist liquid houseplant feed every couple of weeks during their summer growing season.
Vegetable plants such as tomatoes and courgettes will now require regular feeding with Tomato Feed.