Each sweetcorn plant should produce one or two cobs. Sweetcorn cobs are ready to harvest when the silky tassels turn brown and the kernels, when pressed with a thumbnail, exude a milky liquid. Give cobs a sharp twist to remove. Pick moments before using, because the sugars start converting to starch the minute you harvest them. Supersweet varieties, however, will stay sweeter for a couple of days.
Advice from Gardener’s World
In a short clip from Gardener’s World, Monty shows how it’s done here
This method of cooking preserves all the flavour and nutrients as it steams in its own natural covering leaves. Each cob is cooked on its own.
Method:
Remove the very tough outer leaves from the cob leaving the cob totally covered with fresh looking leaves.
Trim the beard and stem.
Place in the microwave and cook for 4 minutes.
Leave to stand for about 6 minutes until it is cool enough to handle. Remove the leaves and beard from the cob being careful not to be scalded by the steam.
Enjoy! And there are NO PANS to WASH UP.
This method was recommended to me from Ana Cors, plot 127B. Thank you Ana – its brilliant.
Green manures such as
Mustard and Phacelia and Grazing Rye can be sown now.
Continue regular weeding to
avoid build-up of work later.
Sowing and Growing
Sow oriental vegetables such
as mizuna, pak choi and mustard greens for salad leaves- they bolt
less at this time of year.
Sow parsley to last through
till spring on a sunny windowsill.
Sow Swiss chard and perpetual
spinach at the beginning of the month.
Make a last sowing of beetroot
at the beginning of the month.
Sow fast-growing ‘catch
crops’ for autumn use, such as radish, lettuce, rocket and
turnips.
Plant out winter brassicas,
broccoli, kale and cabbbages in soil which has been limed at least 6
weeks before, to reduce club root infestations.
Plant new strawberries now,
either as detached runners or new plants.
In dry weather keep runner
beans well-watered twice a week to aid setting.
To reduce risk of tomato
blight, water directly onto the roots not the leaves.
Feed courgette plants weekly
with a high potash liquid feed to continue fruiting.
Summer prune trained fruit
trees such as fans, espaliers and cordons.
Prune plum and damson trees
after fruiting. On grape vines shorten fruit bearing branches to two
leaves beyond the fruit bunch.
Prune out fruited canes of
summer raspberries.
Tie in new canes on raspberries
and blackberries.
On grape vines shorten fruit
bearing branches to two leaves beyond the fruit bunch.
Cut back chives if showing
signs of rust and new shoots will quickly appear. Remove mint plants
showing signs of rust. The disease will persist over winter and
re-infect new plants next year.
Pick off and destroy rosemary
leaf beetle which are active at this time of year.
In the greenhouse avoid
splashing water onto leaves. Moisture triggers spore germination of
fungal diseases.
Harvesting
Harvest sweet corn when a
grain exudes milky juice when tested with a fingernail and the
whiskers are brown.
Harvest onions and shallots
when the stems are dry and papery.
Start harvesting runner beans,
parsnips and cucumbers when ready.
Complete harvesting of second
early potatoes and begin to harvest main crop potatoes as they begin
to flower.
Harvest early ripening apples
and pears.
Harvest carrots, but leave
protective insect mesh on carrots until autumn.
Gardening for wildlife
Leave some flower seed heads
on plants as source of food for wildlife.
Cut and shake ripe seed heads
of annuals over suitable patches of bare soil for flowers next year.
Continue to hand-weed or hoe
regularly to keep on top of weeds.
Dig deep to remove highly
invasive bind weed as it appears.
Continue to mow or clip grass
paths weekly.
If you have sown green manure,
dig it in this month to fix the nitrogen in the soil.
In the greenhouse ensure
adequate shading. Check night time temperatures and close door on
cold nights. On hot days keep greenhouse temperatures down by using
maximum ventilation and damp down greenhouse floors to increase
humidity.
Use insect-proof mesh over
carrots to prevent carrot fly attacking carrots. Ensure it is
well-pegged down, not leaving any gaps.
Use insect-proof mesh over
leeks to prevent leek moth damaging leeks. Ensure it is well-pegged
down, not leaving any gaps.
Sowing and Growing
Direct-sow courgettes.
Sow radicchio in drills for
autumn salad leaves.
Sow fennel and oriental greens
such as mizuna and pak choi. June sowings reduce the risk of
bolting.
Successionally sow salads,
rocket and basil etc every two to three weeks for continuous
picking.
Make a late sowing of peas for
an autumn crop.
Sow overwintering carrots such
as Autumn King or Chantenay.
Quick-maturing radishes or
salad leaf crops can be sown between brassica rows.
Quick-germinating annuals, such
as cosmos, that attract insect pollinators can still be sown.
Sow
wallflowers for next year.
Water potatoes well for
good-sized tubers and reduced problems with scab. (Remember to
target-water, not spray, to avoid water wastage.)
Water tomatoes regularly and
evenly. Uneven watering can cause cracked fruit and blossom end rot.
Regularly pinch outside shoots on cordon tomatoes and tie in plants
to supports.
Feed every 10-14 days with a liquid fertilizer,
changing to a high potash fertilizer once the first fruits begin to
set.
Plant out sweet corn 16”
apart in blocks, not rows, to aid wind pollination.
Continue planting out or
direct-sow runner and French beans.
Transplant pencil-thick leeks
now into 6” deep holes.
Plant out pumpkins, squashes in
well manured ground. Plant out outdoor cucumbers and peppers.
Protect with fleece on cold nights.
Keep fruit bushes well-watered.
(Target-water, not spray, to avoid water wastage.) Protect soft
fruit from bird attack by netting securely and tie in new raspberry
and blackberry canes.
Continue to check for sawfly
larvae on gooseberries. Hand pick off.
Remove strawberry runners
during the early part of summer, to avoid energy being diverted from
the developing fruit.
On plum trees, after the ‘June
drop’ of excess developing fruits, thin the fruits to prevent
overladen branches breaking.
Harvesting
Continue to regularly harvest established asparagus – mid April to mid June. If asparagus growth is weak, apply a general fertilizer of fish, blood and bone.
First, second and salad potatoes may be ready for harvesting. Tubers should be ready when plants begin to flower.
Harvest broad beans from the bottom of the plant up. Once the plant is harvested, cut off the stems and dig the roots back into the soil to make use of the captured nitrogen.
Harvest early peas. Put unused pea pods and foliage into the compost heap or dig into the soil to provide nitrogen rich nutrients to the soil.
Gardening for Wildlife
If broad beans are affected
by blackfly, rub off or spray with a jet of water to remove them
rather than using insecticides.
Create a cool, damp spot for
amphibians and their prey to take shelter in by building a log pile
in a shady corner. Half bury the bottom logs and fill nooks and
crannies with leaves.
Add a bee house to your plot or
garden, placing it in a south-facing spot but not in direct
sunlight.
Select single forms of annual
flowers as these provide more pollen for bees. Integrate annual
flowers into the vegetable beds to attract beneficial insects such
as bees and hoverflies.
Reduce the use of herbicides,
fungicides and insecticides if possible.
