Allotment & Gardening in August: Bounty and Beyond

August is a generous month on the allotment - baskets brimming with ripe produce, flowers buzzing with pollinators, and long warm evenings to enjoy the fruits of your hard work. But this abundance comes with its own challenges: staying on top of harvesting, keeping crops healthy, and making plans for the seasons ahead.

Allotment Tasks to Tackle in August

Harvesting is your top job in August. Many crops will be at their peak - tomatoes, beans, courgettes, cucumbers, sweetcorn, beetroot, carrots, and soft fruits are all begging to be picked. Don’t let anything go to waste: pick little and often to keep plants productive and avoid gluts turning into compost.

Watering remains important, especially during dry spells. Prioritise greenhouse crops and containers, and water deeply to encourage strong roots. Mulching can still help retain moisture and keep weeds at bay.

Keep weeding - weeds can still spread quickly. Remove diseased leaves from plants like tomatoes to prevent blight and mildew from taking hold. Keep feeding fruiting plants with a high-potash fertiliser to keep yields strong through the late summer.

What to Grow and Harvest

Alongside the main harvests, August is the moment to sow your next round of quick salads, spinach, rocket, radishes, and spring onions for a late-season pick. It’s also your window to plant overwintering crops like spring cabbage and hardy lettuce varieties.

If you have space becoming free, think ahead: green manures sown now will help replenish your soil ready for next year. It’s also a good month to take cuttings of herbs like rosemary, sage, and mint.

Planning Ahead

Use August to plan your autumn and winter plot. If your onions and garlic are ready, lift them and cure them somewhere dry. Dig up early potatoes if you haven’t already and make room for late-season plantings.

Keep an eye on fruit trees and bushes: support heavily laden branches and net what you want to protect from birds. Start collecting seeds from flowers and self-sown veg to save for next year, and keep notes on what worked well this season and what didn’t.

Final Thought

August rewards your patience and effort in the best way: food on the table, fresh air, and quiet moments among buzzing bees and rustling leaves. Keep picking, keep watering, and take a moment to enjoy how far your plot has come since those chilly spring days.

Here’s to a rewarding and restful August in the garden!

Recommended Video

 Looking for ideas on what to sow in August? Our friends from GrowVeg talk you through what to plant this month. Dont forget to give them a like and follow!