Growing in Capel St. Mary
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If you're heading away this month, don’t forget to ask a friend to keep your garden going strong. Make sure they water your containers, greenhouse plants, outdoor tomatoes, marrows, courgettes, beans, and cucumbers. Encourage them to pick all sweet peas and beans – they’ll stop producing if left on the plant.
And while you're at it, stock up on some ‘Restaurant Quality’ lumpwood charcoal – because you never know when the perfect BBQ moment will strike!
Plant: brassicas and leeks
Sow: lettuce, carrots (cover with cloches in October), spring cabbage, pak choi, radish, spinach & turnips
Tomatoes: Pinch off side shoots on cordon types, tie to canes (4ft), and feed weekly
Potatoes: Spray every 2 weeks when leaves start touching to protect from blight
Keep picking soft fruits
Tie in new shoots
Tidy strawberry beds: remove old leaves, runners, and straw – and burn them
Add Growmore (2oz per square yard)
Dig up and dispose of 3-year-old plants
Plan ahead: prepare a new strawberry bed on well-manured ground for next year’s crop
Ventilate, shade, and keep humidity up
Water daily
Tie tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and aubergines to canes
Feed weekly (tomato feed) once fruits swell
Leaves folding inwards? It’s heat stress – water twice a week with Epsom salts (1 tsp per 2 gal)
Feed cucumbers/melons with dried blood (1 tsp/week) and water it in
Deadhead to keep blooms coming
Mulch borders with bark or peat
Mow weekly
Apply lawn weed killer
Open Saturdays, 10am–12 noon through October. Pop by for plants and surplus veg throughout the week too!
Just £5/year – open to everyone, plot holders or not. With bulk-buy savings at The Hut, it’s worth every penny!
When: September 6–7
Where: Village Hall
Entries open: Online from August 1 – deadline: September 2
Show schedules are already online at www.capelallotments.co.uk, and paper forms are available from Wendy Russell (show.secretary@capelallotments.co.uk).
With 134 classes – from produce and flowers to cookery, photography, handicraft, and children's entries – there’s something for everyone. Non-members welcome!
The pond’s water level has held steady and the space is looking beautiful! More plants are flowering, attracting bees, butterflies, and hoverflies. Don’t forget to check our info boards if you spot something unfamiliar!
Interested in visiting the allotment or our wildlife area? Schools, groups, and individuals are welcome! Email: wildlife@capelallotments.co.uk
All plots are currently taken, and we have a small waiting list. If you're interested, add your name via the website and we’ll contact you when a space becomes available.
Planning a new shed or alterations to an existing one? Please contact site manager Martin Leech before starting any work.
See you down at the plots!
– Your Allotments Association ????
P.S. Got a garden tip or photo to share? Drop us a line – we might feature it in next month’s newsletter!
