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The Vegetable Garden In August

August 4, 2016 By Jill Anderson 2 Comments

August has had an exciting start, The Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall was fun, I rediscovered how much I like making things, and there were some wonderful people there too.

port eliot-Dan Pearson

One of the biggest highlights at Port Eliot was Dan Pearson talking about gardens.

 

Port eliot-shibori

I had a go at dying fabric using shibori, a Japanese technique using indigo, that’s my piece top left.

port eliot-fabric printing

and I did a fabric printing workshop.

port eliot tea-ladies

The tea ladies made me smile, I’m going to print this and keep it on the fridge.

We stopped off at Hauser & Wirth on the way down there which has a fabulous garden designed by Piet Oudolf. On the way back from Cornwall we stopped off at Montacute House, because if you’re passing it seems sensible to take a little detour, it was a flying visit to both places, but enough to replenish the gardening soul.

Meanwhile back in the vegetable garden, there’s been a fair amount of rain, so watering hasn’t been so important, but if it’s dry where you are you’ll need to water vegetables regularly to stop them bolting and to encourage plump fruit.

Tomatoes need checking daily, pinch out the side-shoots between the leaf and the main stem, unless you’re growing the tumbling varieties that can be left to grow into bushy shapes. Standard vine tomatoes also need to have their height restricted, snip out the top of the plant once 4 or 5 trusses of flowers have developed. Keep feeding them with tomato fertiliser to encourage the plant to make more tomatoes and tie them in as they grow to stop them toppling over.

August veg-tomatoes

Tomato Tumbling Tom Yellow

I hope you’re getting plenty of salad leaves, they must be one of the easiest vegetables to grow, as long as you can fend off the slugs. This tree spinach was almost demolished by slugs, but after digging it up and keeping it in a pot near the kitchen door, where I could keep an eye on it, it’s recovered. The young leaves taste very mild, older leaves can be tougher. I love the magenta colour in the middle and it looks pretty mixed with plainer, salad leaves. It’s botanical name is Chenopodium giganteum ‘Magenta Spreen’.

The Vegetable Garden In August-tree spinach leaves- Chenopodium giganteum 'Magenta Spreen'.

Tree spinach aka Chenopodium giganteum ‘Magenta Spreen’.

The Vegetable Garden In August-lettuce in container

Lettuce growing by the back door.

Prune gooseberries and currants cutting back soft, new shoots to leave only 5 leaves.

Prune summer-fruiting raspberries cutting canes that have fruited this year, right down to the ground tie-in the new, soft canes ready for fruiting next year.

Courgettes and beans need checking daily so they can be picked while they’re young and tender.

Photos and more about the garden at Hauser & Wirth here.

How are your vegetables growing, what’s been the most succesful so far?

Jill

all photos: Jill Anderson

Related posts:

Prunus serrula, Tibetan cherry,Trees for small gardens nettles, nettle fertiliserHow to make nettle fertiliser harvesting garlic, fresh garlic,Harvesting garlic What to do in the vegetable garden in June

Related posts:

Prunus serrula, Tibetan cherry,Trees for small gardens nettles, nettle fertiliserHow to make nettle fertiliser harvesting garlic, fresh garlic,Harvesting garlic What to do in the vegetable garden in June
Filed Under: Blog, Gardening, Growing Food, Recycling & Sustainability Tagged With: Chenopodium giganteum 'Magenta Spreen', The vegetable garden in August, tree spinach

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Comments

  1. rusty duck says

    August 4, 2016 at 10:20 pm

    Hauser and Wirth is definitely on my list for this year. It was last year too and I never made it! Can’t let another opportunity slip by.

    Reply
    • Jill Anderson says

      August 8, 2016 at 3:22 pm

      I know it’s been on my list for a while! Go soon if you can, the plants are looking wonderful.

      Reply

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Hello, I’m Jill Anderson.
This is where you’ll find good, solid information about gardening, growing fruit & vegetables and how to keep it all looking good.
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The healing, calming power of nature in one photo. The healing, calming power of nature in one photo.
These wonderful autumn colours won’t be around for much longer. But that’s ok, because now is what matters, & their fleeting beauty makes them even more precious.
It’s easy to see how being among trees & nature is so beneficial for our health & wellbeing. 
Have a great Sunday.
Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it lo Savouring all the autumn colour, & doesn’t it look spectacular with this bold front door.
Today has been hard work, after a lovely time last week in Norfolk. The north coast there is spectacular. Realising these last few months, that there are so many beautiful places here. 
Have a nice evening.
Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Vis Charming glasshouse at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Visiting to see the Anish Kapoor sculptures, which are amazing, but unprepared for the beauty of the grounds & garden. 
Such a treat, worth coming to Norfolk for this alone!
Hope you’re keeping well, & managing to smile some of the time. x
P.S. more of Houghton Hall & Anish Kapoor on my stories
We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberrie We stopped off on the way home to pick blackberries, after coffee & cake, sitting in the churchyard - the cafe was full, & the churchyard is a quiet, peaceful spot..... as you’d expect.
-
One little advantage of lockdown is walking so much more, rather than using the car. Though it shouldn’t have taken something as momentous as this, for me to change bad habits 🙁
Hope you’re weekend is going well.
My hazel arch, a bit lopsided 🙄 using wood from My hazel arch, a bit lopsided 🙄 using wood from a random clump of hazel on the garden. Now looking much better covered in winter squash plants, so you can’t see just how ramshackle it is. I like to think it has a certain home-spun charm .

Great for small space gardening, imagine how much room you need to grow these without vertical supports.

I’ve got 2 Uchiki kuri, lovely nutty flavour.
1 Turks turban, for its flamboyant shape & colours, though it also tastes good.
One unknown, grown by my grandsons in their homeschooled science lesson.
Close-ups of the squash over on my stories.
Stay cool my friends x
I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium reg I wanted to show you this lovely lily ( Lilium regale) which is flowering right outside our bedroom window. 
It gets sun for about 4 hours only, you can order the bulbs now for planting in September. It’ll reappear every year & waft delicious scent around your garden, or through your windows.
Have a very happy Monday x
It’s British Flower Week, there’s a lot to be It’s British Flower Week, there’s a lot to be said for fabulous seasonal flowers that haven’t travelled thousands of miles ...... & are wonderful for biodiversity
A bit of rain, nice long days (it’s almost mid-s A bit of rain, nice long days (it’s almost mid-summer!) & it’s, mostly, all growing nicely.

Spinach, courgettes & garlic in shot here. 
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday x
Hope is a decision I’ve thought long & hard abou Hope is a decision
I’ve thought long & hard about how to view the tumult in the world we’re living in now. 
The only thing that works for me, is to choose hope.

It’s a tall order, but avoiding mainstream news & speculation helps avoid the anxiety, that’s often waiting in the wings.

One day soon there’ll be grandchildren clambering over this again.
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