The first half of the year is over and the summer solstice (the longest day) is behind us.
July is all about striking a balance between the last of the summer rush and the first, quiet wave of preparations for winter. While our main summer crops keep us fully occupied with their peak growth, this is also a good time to think about filling empty spots in the garden with late crops and strengthening pest protection—especially when it comes to combating caterpillars!
A quick tip for success: the sun in the middle of summer dries out the soil quickly, so keep a close eye on your seed trays. For direct sowing in open ground, light shade cloth or constant moisture is essential for even germination.
🌱 What to sow in July?
~ New / first sowing rounds ~
Endive → Endive tolerates mid-summer heat much better than lettuce (less risk of bolting), making July the perfect time to sow for a crisp, beautiful autumn harvest. Do keep in mind, however, that the taste may be slightly more bitter than that of plants sown later in the autumn.
~ Continuous / successive sowing rounds ~
Bush green beans → Preferably sow these before mid-July. Sowing later means there are no longer enough warm days for a good harvest.
Beets, carrots & spring onions → Continue sowing these in successive rounds for a constant supply of fresh root crops and onions.
Swiss chard & celery → Continue with regular sowing rounds of these robust garden classics.
Fennel → It takes a while from sowing to harvest. Sow at the end of this month or the beginning of next month to avoid the peak of the summer heat and prevent premature bolting.
🌿 What to plant out in July as pre-grown seedlings (instead of sowing)?
This is the very last month to plant out heat-loving plants if you still want a good harvest before the end of the season:
Summer favorites → Plant tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and pole beans in their final spots immediately. They need all the sun of July and August to ripen their fruit.
Note: bush green beans are the only exception to this—you can still sow them directly without any problems.
🛠️ Activities
Pruning & deep watering → Continue performing regular maintenance. We spend 90% of our time on this. Ensure that tomatoes and cucumbers remain pruned back to the top 4–6 leaf levels for optimal air circulation, and water deeply weekly so that the roots remain strong and well-hydrated.
💚 Pest control & maintenance:
Moth caterpillars & cabbage white butterflies → This is currently our biggest concern. Check beets, chard, celery, herbs, and remaining cabbage crops weekly. Remove caterpillars immediately by hand, use Bt weekly (especially on the underside of leaves), water at the roots rather than on the leaves, and remove damaged leaves from the garden to disrupt their life cycle.
Black bean aphid → Green aphids and slugs are less of a problem this month, but black bean aphids can target beans and nasturtiums. Keep a close eye on the tops of stems in particular; spray them away with a strong jet of water or sweep them away by hand before they form large colonies. For some people, dusting the plant thoroughly with lava meal 1-2 times has helped. This causes the ants to disappear, giving the natural enemies of the bean aphid the opportunity to clear the infestation.
Spider mites → We saw the first signs of spider mites on our eggplants, so check them carefully! Look for small yellow dots and fine webs on the underside of the leaves. Do you see them? Rinse the underside of the leaves with water and remove the lowest affected leaves. If you catch it early, natural enemies in MOES Tuinen will do the rest.