The weather this summer has affected the usual time table for tackling the allotment jobs. Which means there is catching up to do as well as the usual autumn jobs to see to.
When the amount of things you are harvesting drops and there are less reasons to go to the vegetable plot to pick daily; it is tempting to stop work on the plot. However, there are still many tidying up jobs that need to be done before you can sit back and put your feet up for a well earned rest. If you have missed out on cutting back some of the fruit bushes it is a good idea to check out if it is still OK to cut them back and tidy them up.
The summer raspberries need a different approach when being cut back, as they fruit on the wood that has had sunshine on them this year. I have missed out on tidying them up, so now I am trying to get them into shape for next summer. If you cut all the canes right back to the ground on summer fruiting raspberries, you will get no fruit next summer - on the canes that grow new next spring. In other words they fruit on this summer's canes not on next the new ones that grow in the spring. The easiest canes to start work on cutting back are the ones that are obviously dead and not likely to recover. If you cut out the fruit canes that you wish to remove - then step back from time to time to review your progress. Look for the healthy canes that will flourish next spring and leave them be.
The weather this summer has affected the usual time table for tackling the allotment jobs, as you can see from the paragraph above.. Which means there is catching to do as well as the usual autumn jobs to see to.
 |
| Home made compost is a valuable resource for your vegetable plot. |
