VEGETABLE PATCH : A root day on a waxing crescent — the soil is quietly receptive. Work any open bed to 25 cm with a fork, then rake in mature compost before settling in young fennel plants at 25 cm apart in the row with 40 cm between rows. If you have beetroot in modules, firm them in at 10 cm in the row with 30 cm between rows. On sandy ground, lay a thin straw mulch around each plant to hold moisture through the August heat.
ORCHARD : Strawberry runners sitting in small pots are ready for their permanent bed — work in a bucketful of compost per metre of row, then settle each plant 30 cm apart with the crown exactly at soil level. Garlic cloves can also go in now: 3 cm deep, tip upward, 12 cm apart.
LANDSCAPING : Wisteria lateral shoots need pinching back to five or six leaves from the main stem this month, directing energy into next year’s flowering buds. Lavender that has finished blooming can be lightly trimmed, removing spent heads without cutting into old wood.