We’ll start with the annual plug to support the village show this month. Saturday the 21st is the big day this year. For those of you who have been growing this year and fancy participating, entry forms are in the Cookham Dean Fete programme or available from the organiser Helen Philip (07549 519246 helenphilip@hotmail.co.uk). Entry forms need to be with Helen by 6pm Thursday 19th September at 50, Whyteladyes Lane Cookham Berkshire SL6 9LP with entry fees (50p per class).

If you’re interested, but haven’t taken the plunge into growing your own yet, come along and have a chat with people from the horticultural society or the participating growers. They’ll all be very happy to talk about their experiences and ways to get into growing (ranging from the very simple to the rather more nerdy).

Autumn is a great time to get new perennial planting done and we’ll focus on two crops rhubarb and asparagus, starting with ground preparation. This is really important; as these are crops that can remain in place for many years. For asparagus you’ll need a rectangular space. We have a small bed in the garden that is 1.2m by 0.6m (6ft by 2ft if you prefer), but if you have space and the desire you can go much bigger if you like. For rhubarb a minimum plot of 2ft square (0.6m by 0.6m) is great to get you started.

Removing perennial weeds will really help the new plants to get established so the more work you can do on weeding before planting the better. It is also helpful to work bulky organic matter into the planting area. Well-rotted manure or fully broken-down garden compost are both ideal. Next month we’ll be planting!

August is probably our peak harvesting month. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, cabbages, beetroot, beans, onions and potatoes will all be contributing to rainbow-coloured salads for high summer, all lifted by the addition of the fresh herbs that have been growing on the kitchen windowsill.

 If everything has gone to plan, then the next most important tasks this month will be cooking and preserving crops. We make a lot of jams and pickles, which prove popular with friends and family and have a freezer devoted to vegetables and vegetable dishes.

 When we harvest potatoes, we clean the crop and sort them, putting only the best quality tubers into storage. Any that are damaged (either by pests or in the process of harvesting) we cook immediately. We freeze the subsequent chips, mash, bubble and squeak, roasties, dauphinoise … to be used once the stored tubers run out next spring. We also make sure that some fresh peas and beans get frozen so that we can remember the heady days of summer in the depths of winter.

As growing areas are cleared it is worth thinking about whether or not you want to add perennial crops like rhubarb, asparagus, fruit bushes and Jerusalem artichokes. Once established these are all relatively low maintenance, but it is essential to make sure that the growing area is as free of perennial weeds as you can make it. Planting perennial crops is best done a little later in the year, but if this is something that you’re thinking about, then spend the next few weeks weeding assiduously.

For container growers there are options for re-planting as you empty out this year’s crops. Heat treated seed potatoes will give you new potatoes for Christmas and spring cabbages will give you an early harvest for next year – just make sure you protect them from pigeons.

By the end of June, all of our plants for summer and autumn harvesting are in the ground, so July is about looking after them and, of course, harvesting and eating the crops. With long, warm days the norm in July, plants will be growing strongly, so the role of the gardener is simply to help this process along.

Squash frame in July

We’ll be doing plenty of weeding to minimise competition for water, light and nutrients and will be keeping a careful eye on the growing plants to check for signs of ill-health, whether disease, damage from pests or physiological problems – most likely drought at this time of year, but drafting this in mid-June, we were still getting plenty of rain. If the ground is drying out, then targeted watering is important, water needs to be at the roots for plants to use it, wetting the soil surface won’t help the plants but will waste water. We will also feed fast-growing plants and at this time of year using a seaweed solution to give them a boost.

Watering pots for tomatoes

Watering point for runner beans

As for pests, we have to accept that we’ll be sharing some of the crops. We try to maximise our share by using barriers (fences, nets and fleece) to prevent pests from getting to the plants, and, as with any integrated pest management system, observation is key.

Different types of netting

For many crops regular harvesting is an important part of maintaining plant health and maximising the crop. Most of gardening comes down to sex (or at least reproduction) and preventing the production of mature seed helps to stimulate new flowers and thus extra fruits. This is particularly true for crops like courgettes, beans, cucumbers and peppers, all of which will be starting to crop soon. During July we’ll also be harvesting peas, carrots, beetroot, early potatoes, currants, strawberries and the first tomatoes.

Early summer harvests

This month we’re going to focus on indoor growing again. In June we can expect some warm weather and whether you grow your own or not, there is lots of fresh seasonal produce around and many people’s thoughts turn to salads. For window-ledge growers this is a good time to think about micro-greens (sometimes called cresses) to add variety and flavour to your dishes.

Microgreens are very young seedlings with just a couple of pairs of leaves, some people might remember the cress grown in eggshells to add green hair to painted faces, which was then cut and usually added to egg sandwiches.  There are many ways to make “cress heads” one of which is shown in this Cbeebies video making cress heads.

Many types of seeds are suitable for growing microgreens, beetroot, brassicas and pea shoots all work well. One family to avoid is the Solanaceae (including tomatoes, aubergines and peppers) as the sprouts are poisonous even though the fruits are delicious.

You’ll need a fairly shallow container with a flat bottom (a small seed tray or recycled food container is ideal) for the seeds to grow in. Line the container with an absorbent material (cloth, kitchen roll or if you have it capillary or water matting) and thoroughly wet it. Sprinkle the seeds on top of the wetted material and place the container on a warm windowsill or in a propagator if you have one. The ideal temperatures for germination are 18–22°C (65–72°F).

As the seeds begin to grow, make sure that you keep them moist by watering carefully or spraying with a mister. Simply cut the seedlings as you need them and add the micro greens to salads and other dishes.  The flavour of these young shoots is surprisingly intense and you get a genuine hit of the taste of the full grown vegetables from microgreens.

If you want a bit of extra help to get going, many seed suppliers offer starter kits that include materials and some of the most popular seeds.

In May we’ll be doing a lot of planting out of the young plants that we’ve been cultivating for the last couple of months. By the middle of the month, we can be pretty much guaranteed that we’ll have seen the last of any late frosts in our part of the country, so all of the tender plants can go out this month.

As is always the case, the plants on windowsills are looking huge, but once they go out, will look tiny.  These aubergines are over 20cm tall, but we’ll be potting them on once more before they get planted out in a couple of weeks.

Aubergines nearly ready for planting

Most of the standard summer crops – tomatoes, peppers, courgettes and aubergines – can be grown in containers as well as in open ground. A large pot filled with a mix of a soil-based and multi-purpose compost will give enough root space for these types of plants to develop healthy roots and grow strongly enough to fruit well. In addition to occupying little space, an advantage of pots is that they can be moved around to maximise the light as the seasons change. It is important to provide some support for tomatoes, peppers and aubergines otherwise they will tend to flop as fruit develops and the plants become top heavy. Courgettes tend to have more of a scrambling habit so spread horizontally.

For even smaller spaces tumbling tomatoes and small chilli peppers can be grown very successfully in hanging baskets.

Tomatoes in a hanging basket (in July)

The summer crops will still be a couple of months away from harvesting, but other crops will be coming into their own. We should still be harvesting asparagus and maybe getting the first peas, beetroot and the early potatoes that we started in the greenhouse.

April is the month when we’re really looking to get outside on a regular basis, taking advantage of the preparatory work we’ve been doing indoors. Hardy young plants such as peas, beetroots and brassicas will be planted out this month.  This year we got the peas going earlier than usual and these have already been planted.

Young Peas in mid-April

Amongst the more tender plants, young tomatoes, peppers and aubergines will probably be planted in the greenhouses (unless the weather is particularly cold). The most tender plants (like pumpkins, squashes and cucumbers) will be sown in propagators, so that they’ll be ready to go out next month along with outdoor tomatoes and peppers.

We’ll be keeping a careful eye on our young plants, keeping potato shoots protected from frost and everything else protected from the critters that want our lunch before we get to eat it.  Our greenhouse potatoes that we’ll be hoping to harvest next month are thriving in their cosy home.

Greenhouse potatoes in mid-April

Our strategy for crop protection is based mostly around stopping pests reaching the plants, so our plots tend to be identifiable by the range of nets, cages and other barriers. We also try to adapt growing times, for example we get our peas going early so that they’ll be harvested before maggots become a problem. We once tried carrots that were supposed to be less palatable to carrot root fly and on tasting them, understood why the pests weren’t so bothered. So, we carry on with tasty varieties, a netting barrier and an acceptance that by the end of the season the critters will be starting to win.

On the harvesting front we’ll be starting to cut asparagus this month, which is a real treat. Later in the year we’ll write about establishing an asparagus bed.

Asparagus ready for cutting in April

For windowsill gardeners, this is a great time of year to start leafy summer herbs like basil and coriander. Simply sow the seeds in a sieved compost, with a bit of grit added for drainage and put them on sunny windowsill and in only a few weeks you’ll be cutting fresh herbs.  Coriander, in particular, tends to run to flower quite quickly, so sowing every 4-5 weeks will give you a succession of leaves to use throughout the summer and autumn.