ORCHARD : Before evening, the waxing gibbous moon rides through a fruit day — a generous window for the kitchen garden and orchard alike. Check fig trees for fruits that droop slightly at the neck and show a bead of nectar at the tip; gather them into a shallow basket to avoid bruising. Plum trees are worth a close look too: fruits that give gently under a thumb and part easily from the branch are ready. Collect seeds from your finest watermelon today — scoop, rinse, and dry the seeds on a cloth in a shaded spot for a week before storing.
VEGETABLE PATCH : Harvest time calls for a steady hand and a sharp pair of secateurs. Strawberry runners are putting out strong plantlets right now — peg the healthiest ones into small pots of compost set beside the parent plant; roots will form within two to three weeks, ready for planting out at 30 cm apart, crown level with the soil. Kiwi plants benefit from a summer pinch: shorten the side shoots to five or six leaves to direct energy into fruit development rather than leafy growth.
LANDSCAPING : Wisteria earned its reputation as a vigorous climber, and August is one of the two key pruning moments. Cut back the long whippy shoots of this season to five or six leaves — this encourages the formation of flowering spurs for next spring. Work with clean, sharp secateurs and tie in any framework branches you want to keep. In the evening, as the moon shifts to a root day, hold off on any further harvesting and turn instead to watering deeply at the base of established rose bushes or hydrangeas.