Sunday 25 October

Grow your own: August

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

Jobs for August

Sow indoors

On a windowsill, in a greenhouse or under cover

Nothing this month.

Sow outside

Straight into the ground

  • 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.

  • Spinach

    Prefers cool weather — spring and late-summer sowings do best.

Plant out

Seedlings, sets and young plants

  • Strawberries

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

Ready to harvest

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