If you don’t have a greenhouse or polytunnel, then the next few weeks, in June, are the best time to plant some of the more tender crops – aubergines, cucumbers, chillies, peppers, tomatoes – outdoors.
Here are some top tips…
They thrive with warmth & shelter
If you can, plant these in an area that is well protected from strong winds. Since they are such heat-loving plants, you’ll find they will do brilliantly grown against a south-facing wall where the warmth will reflect out from the stone, especially at night. You could easily pop a cloche over them whilst the plants are young too – you may find a cloche tunnel is an easy solution for this.
Planting outdoors in pots is a great idea
If you can plant these in pots, especially chillies and peppers, then you will be able to bring them indoors undercover (eg, to a front porch or a shed) overnight in autumn if the plant is still cropping but the weather is turning too cold and there is risk of frost.
These are hungry plants
Be sure to add plenty of rich compost when you plant these veggies. They really do best with plenty of nutrients. A fortnightly or monthly liquid feed will really help, especially for those that are grown in containers.
Water thoroughly and regularly
These plants will do best with plenty of water – if you don’t have time to water your entire veg garden, these are some to prioritise during any dry spells. Newly planted, aim to water them at least every other day. Once they are a little more established, water them thoroughly twice a week.
They will need to be protected from slugs & snails
These will likely be the most common pest you’ll face when you plant them out, so make sure you’ve got some slug beer traps or some wool pellets to fend them off.
They will benefit from companion planting
To help keep aphids at bay, and to attract pollinators, we’d recommend planting lots of tagetes and marigolds in and amongst these plants.
