Garden Advice › Summer

Your Summer Veggie Garden

Some tips to help you get the most from your garden this month:

Grow the longest Beans in town: Squirt warm water over the flowers on your beans - it's not just an old wives' tale - the idea is that it helps you get a bumper bean crop and makes them grow longer!
No eye-gouging in the garden: Upend tiny terracotta pots on the tops of garden stakes to prevent eye gouging- one of gardening's biggest injuries
Powdery mildew patches: To avoid them, hose at ground level where the roots are, not over the foliage. If there are white patches forming on the leaves of susceptible plants such as zucchinis, cucumbers and hydrangeas, mix 1 cup of milk, 1 tsp baking soda into 1 litre of water and spray affected plants.
Tomato ripening 101 - Despite plenty of sun and water tomatoes can take a while to ripen which is frustrating. If brown patches appear on tomatoes facing the sun, throw shade cloth over them before the sun hits, to prevent scorching.