health
Summer picks: what to plant, harvest and eat right now
Tomatoes, samphire and basil bloom in summer – as, of course, do the essential strawberries
TL;DR
- Basil: Keep stems in water at room temperature, water potted plants from below.
- Cherries: Enjoy English harvest cherries at their best, sun-warmed or in clafoutis.
- Courgettes: Eat them small for the best flavor; try raw or griddled.
- Gooseberries: Enjoy them early and sharp or later when sweeter; a festival is on 4 August in Yorkshire.
- Samphire: Salty, succulent stems, great raw or simmered, especially with fish.
- Strawberries: Look for deeply fruity ones; pick-your-own is ideal.
- Tomatoes: Cherry varieties like Gardener's Delight and Honeycomb are delicious; keep at room temperature.
- Sow soft herbs, kale, cabbage, spinach, radicchio for autumn/winter.
- Sow carrots, beetroot, radish, and salad leaves every three weeks.
- Harvest early potatoes as needed.
- Freeze surplus berries.
- Dry lavender flowers.
- Pinch out side shoots on tomato plants in July and feed/water regularly.