As spring turns into summer there is plenty to be doing whenever you get a free moment to spend in the veg patch. Now is the time to be giving your plants plenty of TLC – some will need harvesting, some will need supporting and others will need to be protected from pests and diseases. With that in mind, here are three things worth doing over the weekend…
- Remove yellow leaves from any brassicas. Yellowing leaves on cabbages and broccoli plants will lead to mildew, so the best thing to do is cut these leaves off and get rid of them (ideally chuck burn them on the bonfire so that they don’t risk spreading infection to other plants.)
- Watch out for caterpillars. They may become beautiful butterflies, but unfortunately they’ll be merrily munching on your veg in the meantime. Do a quick whip around your plants to check leaves and pick off any caterpillars you see (wipe off any eggs that you find as well.) You can collect them in a bucket and release them somewhere away from your veg patch…they’ll either find a new home, or a lucky bird will enjoy having a little weekend caterpillar feast!
- Start harvesting leafy veg. As your lettuces, spinach, chard and other leaves start to get bigger, cut off the outer leaves and make yourself a nice salad. Cutting leaves regularly will encourage more growth.