What to Do on Your Allotment in July

July is the most rewarding month on the allotment — and the most demanding. The volume of produce is extraordinary, but so is the speed at which crops go over. Visit your plot every other day in July or you will be giving away enormous marrows and finding yellowing beans.

What to sow in July

July is one of the last windows for productive direct sowings:

• Japanese overwintering onion sets — can be pushed in from late July for a May harvest next year.
• Spring onions — a late sowing will be ready in autumn.
• Kale and cavolo nero — sow now for autumn and winter harvest. Kale is genuinely low-maintenance and one of the most productive crops you can grow.
• Radishes, rocket, and salad leaves — short-season crops that fit between main crops.
• Beetroot — last chance for a tender autumn crop.

What to harvest in July

• Courgettes — every two days or they become marrows. A plant left unchecked can produce 10kg of squash in a week in peak July.
• French and runner beans — again, pick constantly. Leaving mature pods on the plant stops production.
• Peas — likely at their end now; let the last pods dry on the vine if you want saved seed.
• Tomatoes — the first outdoor tomatoes ripen from mid-July onwards depending on variety and weather.
• Early main crop potatoes — scrape the soil to check size.
• Raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries — all in full production.
• Onions and garlic — when the foliage yellows and falls over naturally, loosen with a fork and leave on the surface to dry.

Key jobs for July

Dry and store onions. Once foliage has died back, lift onions on a dry day and leave on the surface for 1–2 weeks to dry. In wet weather, bring into a shed or greenhouse. Store in nets or tied in traditional strings in a cool, dry, dark place.

Feed tomatoes weekly. Once the first truss of flowers sets, start a weekly liquid feed high in potassium (tomato feed). Continue until the plants are finished.

Keep on top of weeds. Warm soil plus irrigation equals rapid weed germination. A 10-minute hoe every week beats an hour of hand-weeding in August.

Pests to watch

• Potato blight (Phytophthora infestans) — look for brown patches on leaves spreading rapidly in warm, humid weather. If blight strikes, cut all haulm immediately and remove from the site. Leave tubers in the ground for 2 weeks before lifting so spores on the surface die.
• Courgette powdery mildew — white powder on leaves; improve airflow and remove affected leaves.
• Blossom end rot on tomatoes — caused by calcium deficiency linked to irregular watering, not soil calcium. Keep watering absolutely consistent.

Quick win: harvest courgettes at hand-size

A courgette harvested at 15–20cm is far better than one left to grow to 30cm. The young fruit is tender and flavoursome; the old one is watery. And the plant will produce 10 more where you removed one.