Colin Evans

This year so far has been good especially if you have been growing tomatoes, other salad crops or runner beans.

The weather of late has made for rapid growth and gardens throughout the county are looking healthy and bursting with freshness and colour.

Many are still producing some great crops. As the season progresses there is still much to be done in the garden to continue production of many late salads and vegetables.

There is still time to get lettuce, radish and beetroot into the ground for harvest in a few weeks time. Winter crops like broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts and other leafy crops can be sown now. If you are quick, late potato varieties can be sown as well, especially if you are growing them in large pots, dustbins or barrels.

BLACKCURRANT is part of the healthy five a day we are all being encouraged to eat and the one I would go for every time for my fruit patch is Blackcurrant "Ebony".

This fruiting bush produces the plumpest and sweetest berries on a very bushy plant with the added advantage that this variety also has good mildew resistance. Ebony will be ready for harvesting from early to mid July, so, if you want to add a blackcurrant to your fruit patch then I can recommend this one.

TOPICAL TIPS:

Lavender has been flourishing and yours may well have flowered profusely and by now some will be fading so get out the hedging shears and simply cut the old flowers from the main stems. You can keep the flowers and dry them for use in doors at some point or take the fleshy parts of the stem as cuttings. Feed the base of the plants with a granular fertilizer and mound up a little mulch at the base of each plant.

Take cuttings of rosemary by snapping off the tops of the plant and pushing the cuttings into pots of compost or push into the open ground.

Lavender

Keep watered and then leave well alone throughout the autumn. Give the cuttings some protection during the winter months with horticultural fleece and you will be rewarded with new plants next year.

September is the best time of year to sow new lawns from seed so prepare the ground now during August. Wait until the soil is drier and then remove all weeds and rake over the area and level. Keep newly emerging weed seedlings down by hoeing and if they persist then spray with weedkiller. In September rake the area over again and then distribute the grass seed evening over the newly prepared ground. Firm in and water and in a few weeks new grass will appear.

Happy Gardening.