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5 Great Gardening Jobs for Mid-to-Late Summer
As summer progresses here in Ireland, the garden is in full swing… even if the weather isn’t! With all its colour and crops, mid-to-late summer is an important time for us all to maintain and enhance our gardens, ensuring they remain vibrant and productive. Here are my five essential gardening tasks to focus on right now.
Off With Their Heads!
Deadheading is the practice of removing spent flowers from plants. Whilst it might be one of the easiest garden tasks, don’t overlook it because it can significantly improve the appearance of your garden, encourage further blooming, and prevent plants from self-seeding excessively. Use sharp scissors or secateurs to snip off faded flowers just above the first set of healthy leaves or buds. This can also help avoid dead flowers rotting and damaging the plant itself or spreading disease.
Water… Wisely
Even though the UK and Ireland’s climate can be quite wet, mid-to-late summer often brings periods of dry weather. Ensuring your garden is adequately watered is crucial, especially for newly planted specimens and container plants which can dry out quickly. Water in the early morning or late evening to reduce evaporation. Focus on the base of plants rather than the foliage to get the water to where they need it most. Mulching is a great thing to do almost any time of the year and can help retain moisture and reduce the frequency of watering required. For the more work-shy of us, consider installing a soaker hose or drip irrigation system to automatically deliver water directly to the roots.
Harvesting
This is the time to enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your labour. Regular harvesting, much like deadheading, encourages more production and prevents crops from becoming overripe and attracting pests. Use a sharp knife, scissors or secateurs to harvest crops to avoid damaging plants. Regularly check for ripe produce, and don’t forget to look underneath leaves and in hidden corners. Don’t forget to keep sowing seeds of your favourite quick-growing crops like salad leaves, radishes and peas. These young plants can be used to fill in gaps from crops that have finished to give you more succession, which means one thing… more tasty crops!
Weeding
Weeds compete with garden plants for water, nutrients, and light. Keeping on top of weeding ensures that your garden plants have the resources they need to thrive. Hand-pull shallow-rooted weeds or use a hoe for larger areas. It’s best to weed after rain when the soil is moist and friable so that weeds can be lifted more easily. For deep-rooted weeds like dandelions, remove as much of the root as possible. My two favourite tools are a small, sharp mini-hoe and a specialised weeding tool designed for weeds with a tap root. These are lifesavers for weeding in amongst plants in my raised beds.
Pruning and Trimming
Pruning in mid-to-late summer maintains the shape of shrubs and hedges, encourages healthier growth, and removes any diseased or damaged parts of plants. Summer-flowering shrubs can be pruned after they finish blooming. This includes plants like hydrangeas, lavender, and fuchsia. Always use clean, sharp tools for the best finish and to prevent transfer of disease. When pruning, remove any dead, diseased, or crossing branches to improve air circulation and light penetration. Trim hedges to keep them neat and under control.
Thinking to the Future…
Mid-to-late summer is also an excellent time to start planning for the future. Think about what you want to plant in autumn, such as bulbs for spring flowering or winter vegetables. Making a plan is so powerful and will give you a head start when the time comes.
Bio
Niall is a gardener and creator of the channel ‘Niall Gardens’ on YouTube. He presents segments on TV and radio and is the winner of the Garden Media Guild’s Alan Titchmarsh New Talent of the Year award 2022.
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