Sunday 25 October

Grow your own: July

What to sow, plant and pick in a Llandogo garden or allotment in July. Llandogo sits in a frost-prone valley, so tender crops go out at the end of May, not the start.

Jobs for July

Sow indoors

On a windowsill, in a greenhouse or under cover

Nothing this month.

Sow outside

Straight into the ground

  • French beansfrost-tender

    Dwarf types need no supports — good for pots.

  • Carrots

    Sow thinly to avoid thinning, which attracts carrot fly.

  • Beetroot

    Sow little and often for tender roots all summer.

  • Radishes

    Ready in about a month — perfect for children to grow.

  • Lettuce

    Sow a short row every fortnight; it bolts in hot, dry spells.

  • Salad leaves & rocket

    Cut-and-come-again: snip leaves and they regrow.

  • Chard

    Very forgiving, and often crops right through a mild winter.

  • Parsley

    Slow to germinate; soaking the seed overnight helps.

Plant out

Seedlings, sets and young plants

  • Leeks

    Drop seedlings into deep dibber holes and fill with water, not soil.

  • Kale

    Pick the lower leaves and it keeps going all winter.

  • Purple sprouting broccoli

    Takes nearly a year, but crops in the hungry gap when little else does.

  • Strawberries

    Tuck straw under the fruit to keep it clean and away from slugs.

Ready to harvest

  • Tomatoes
  • Chillies & peppers
  • Cucumbers
  • Courgettes
  • Runner beans
  • French beans
  • Broad beans
  • Peas
  • Potatoes
  • Onions (sets)
  • Garlic
  • Carrots
  • Beetroot
  • Radishes
  • Lettuce
  • Salad leaves & rocket
  • Chard
  • Strawberries
  • Rhubarb
  • Basil
  • Parsley