As we look back at our pictures from last year’s Tatton flower show we get great inspiration for our food gardens, so have a little look and also consider our quick rundown of what you should be looking out for in August.
Harvesting crops in your very own garden is so much fun! And if you haven’t got a food garden of your own we urge you to start one this season! Here are a few suggestions on how to use the produce from your food garden to the fullest.

• Herbs – Cut your herbs back regularly to encourage them to keep growing and make them thrive. If you find yourself with way too many because of this then your herbs can always be given away to friends and family or dried and saved for use at a later date.

Tomatoes – These will be thriving at this time of the year – homegrown tomatoes are fantastic on a nice fresh salad – possibly including other vegetables from the garden such as peppers, summer cabbage, lettuce leaves, spring onions, and cucumber.

Sweet corn – If this is growing in your garden, don’t be tempted to pick it for tomorrow’s tea time. Sweet corn starts to lose its sweet tastiness as soon as you pick it out of your garden so make sure you cook your corn immediately!

Apples – If you have an apple tree growing in your garden, don’t let the produce go to waste! When the apple looks ready and can be picked easily from the tree, go outside and pick as much as you can. Preventing the fruit from falling naturally will also stop any unwanted pests from entering your garden.

WARNING – When harvesting the crops in your food garden, make sure you keep an eye out for yellow or unhealthy looking leaves and rotting fruit. Getting rid of this will mean that your crop’s energy will then be able to concentrate on growing healthier produce.

So with all this in mind – happy harvesting this September!