During the summer months, we start to enjoy the fruits of our labours with fresh produce. The early summer is a bountiful time to harvest crops such as herbs, early carrots, garlic, onions, spinach, new potatoes and broad beans. It isn’t great for garden soils to be exposed and not have any cover in terms of vegetation. 

Once those early crops have been harvested and are out of the ground, be ready with late-summer crops for harvesting later in the year. While we enjoy these delicious ­offerings, we need to ensure we ­continue to sow seeds and plant crops. Purple- sprouting broccoli can be planted in the coming weeks and often will be ready to harvest soon after Christmas. 

Brassicas can be demanding in terms of food and water, so be ready to intervene for at least the next couple of months to ensure a healthy crop next year. Chicory and endive are wonderful salad crops to enjoy later in the summer; you’ll find that lettuces don’t germinate or grow that successfully during the hottest months, making chicory, endive and mustards wonderful alternatives. 

If you’ve ever suffered with bulb fennel that has gone to seed, it may be that you’ve sown the seed too early; those crops that are sown after the longest day tend to form bulbs more successfully, making them a great successional ­vegetable to grow to replace those early crops. 

Leeks can also be planted at this time of year and can be harvested beyond Christmas and into February and March. It’s a little late to sow leek seed now, but young plants are readily available in most garden ­centres. Vegetables can be demanding of nutrients and moisture in the soil, so when you’ve harvested some of your early crops, I would encourage you to add a layer of well-rotted garden ­compost to the surface of the soil ­before you plant your successional veg. 

A 2in layer of mulch will be adequate and young plants can be planted through the organic layer. If the compost is a ­little bit bulkier and does not lend itself to seed-sowing or planting directly through it, I would suggest lightly ­forking the ground to ensure that you mix the composting thoroughly, ­especially if direct sowing any seeds.

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