Vegetables
A start can be made on sowing hardier vegetables.
More tender vegetables can be started in seed trays in a glasshouse or in a spare corner of the home.
To have peas over a long period, start sowing them now and continue to sow small amounts about once a fortnight.
Although broad beans can be sown, they do not produce as well as those sown in autumn and also seem more prone to rust.
If you want potatoes for Christmas, plant early varieties (Jersey Benne, Cliffs Kidney) this week.
Potatoes do best in a rich, slightly acidic soil, so add no lime.
Compost, rotted turf and decayed lawn clippings can be added to the soil, which should be moist but well drained, so dig as deeply as possible, without bringing subsoil to the surface.
Using cloches enables seeds to be sown about a month earlier than in the open ground.
Cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower and silverbeet seedlings can be raised in one large cloche with the ends closed up, giving protection from sudden changes of weather.
Shallots can be planted in rich soil and a sunny site.
Plant 20cm apart with 30cm between rows.
Keep asparagus plots clear of weeds.
As soon as the first asparagus growths appear, dress with nitrate of soda (28g per sq m) or apply liquid manure at fortnightly intervals.
Cut any seed heads off rhubarb plants as soon as they appear.
A top-dressing of blood and bone forked lightly into the surface of the soil will improve rhubarb stems.
Flowers
Sweet peas have been a popular garden annual since first being introduced into England at the end of the 17th century and the original variety, Cupani, is still available.
A burst of hybridising at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century marked the development of the modern sweet pea, particularly the Spencer types.
Dwarf sweet peas need no staking, so can be grown in an open area.
Sow sweet pea seed outdoors in early spring.
In some areas, sweet peas can be sown in mid-August but there is little advantage sowing seed when the soil is cold and wet.
Chrysanthemum cuttings can be taken now.
Rooted pieces from the edges of existing plants will develop quickly but unrooted slips will soon root if placed around the edge of a pot of sandy soil and kept moist but not saturated.
Seedlings and cuttings that have been grown under shelter since autumn should now be hardened off.
Give them ventilation and expose to full sunshine during the day but keep them protected at night.
Start planting gladiolus corms from now until early November.
Staggered planting will provide a succession of flowers for picking.
Trim catmint back hard so it will remain neat and fresh growth will be encouraged.
New plants can be raised by taking cuttings from the ends of some of the trimmings and rooting them in a frame or box of sandy soil.
Water the soil and cover cuttings with a plastic bag for a week or two.
Fruit
Prepare the greenhouse now for tomatoes.
Wash the inside of the glass with a Jeyes Fluid solution and if the tomatoes are to be grown in the soil, rather than pots or bags, replace the soil.
Leave the top of the greenhouse open until planting begins.
Material removed from the greenhouse is excellent for the vegetable garden or can be used to top up flowerbeds.
