Whether you are yet to plant out for the season or have been growing for a few weeks, the next few weeks bring plenty of opportunity to get plants in the ground to keep your veg garden productive through summer and on into autumn and winter.
Late May to Early June
If you haven’t already planted the bulk of your veggies, then make the most of the long daylight hours of the next 2-3 weeks to really fill your plot with plug plants.
It’s such a good time to plant out right now – the soil is warmer, the days are longer, and the plants should really flourish and grow quickly as a result. You can confidently get things in the ground without needing to worry too much about the weather and it is a great time for planting almost anything, whether it’s squashes, sweetcorn and tomatoes or cabbages and kale.
Mid to Late June
Hopefully you’ll have the majority of plants growing by mid June, and you can start plugging any gaps that come up (often thanks to hungry slugs and rabbits) with salads and herbs. It’s a good time to add in some extra plantings too, with the idea that you’ll be able to harvest them a little later than those that you planted in April/May – try an extra row of beetroot or carrots, another planting of peas or dwarf beans to crop a little later, or some extra bulb fennel.
You can also fill your plot with flowers at this time, particularly edible flowers and companions which will bloom quickly and are very useful in the kitchen garden. Fruit and herbs are good additions too – many of the soft fruit plants will be ready to bear fruit, and the herbs can be used almost as soon as you’ve planted them.
If you missed some things when you planted up at the start of the season, this is the time to get them on the go before we move too far into high summer – think sweetcorn, squash, cucumbers and so on…
Early July
This is a great time to plant with an autumn harvest in mind. You can get a whole load of beetroot, carrots, fennel and leafy greens – kale, spinach, chard and salad leaves – on the go to extend the harvest season into October quite happily.
You can also plant a whole load of brassicas now – July tends to be a good time for an extra planting of cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli and sprouts, all of which you will be able to harvest over the colder months.
For those who have space, you may want to squeeze in a few extra salad and quick growers now, too, like mangetout peas and baby sweetcorn.