VEGETABLE PATCH : The descending Waxing Gibbous moon continues to draw energy downward — a third productive stretch for root crops this week, and the conditions remain genuinely favourable. Sow Hamburg radish (Raphanus sativus ‘Münchner Bier’) and kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes) into drills 1 cm deep, spacing seeds 6 cm apart in rows 25 cm wide; thin to 15 cm once seedlings show their second true leaf / Lift the first early potatoes (Solanum tuberosum ‘Maris Bard’ or ‘Rocket’) where foliage is beginning to yellow: ease a flat fork in 20 cm from the stem, lever gently upward, and let the soil crumble away before gathering tubers by hand / Water established rows of beetroot (Beta vulgaris ‘Chioggia’) and turnip (Brassica rapa ‘Golden Ball’) deeply at the base — roughly 10 litres per square metre — then mulch with 5 cm of straw to lock moisture in as summer heat builds / On sandy or free-draining soils, work a handful of pelleted chicken manure into the top 5 cm alongside celeriac (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum) rows to compensate for nutrients leached by recent watering.
ORCHARD : Stone fruits are swelling fast under the summer sun, and a little attention now pays dividends at harvest. Check plum (Prunus domestica) and cherry (Prunus avium) trees for any branches sagging under the weight of developing fruit: prop heavily laden limbs with a forked stake or tie them back to a main scaffold to prevent splitting / Thin clusters of young apricots (Prunus armeniaca) to one fruit every 8–10 cm along the branch — crowded fruitlets compete for sugars and rarely ripen evenly / In Mediterranean gardens, give fig trees (Ficus carica) a generous soak at the root zone (20–25 litres per mature tree) and check that the mulch layer is intact; drought stress at this stage causes premature fruit drop before the main summer crop.