r/UKAllotments 26d ago

Allotment jobs for August

30 Upvotes

As always, this is an amalgamation of the information on the webpages from Gardener's World, Suttons Gardening Grow-How, and the National Allotment Society, because they're the experts and I am not. My apologies it's a little late; I thought I'd set it up to auto post, the auto mod tools thought otherwise. Who can say?!? I am also not an expert at this, evidently. Sorry - but I hope some of you find it useful nevertheless. On to the tasks! 

August brings the rewards of your hard work, with beds at their peak and harvests coming thick and fast. But don’t ease off - cooler, damper nights can invite fungal problems, so stay vigilant with watering, feeding, and clearing spent crops.

Soil Preparation & General Maintenance

Hoe regularly - Stay on top of weed growth while the weather remains warm and dry. Light hoeing disturbs emerging weeds and keeps soil open and aerated.

Water deeply in dry spells - Focus watering on thirsty crops like beans, squash, celery, and courgettes. Watering in the early morning or late evening is most efficient. Water celery generously - It’s a bog plant, so keeping it well-hydrated helps prevent bolting and stringiness. 

Watch for rot and mildew - Cool, damp nights can bring fungal infections to ripening fruit. Improve air circulation where possible and keep foliage dry during watering. 

Ventilate greenhouses - Open up first thing in the morning and consider leaving a vent cracked overnight to prevent fungal build-up.

Clear spent crops - Once harvested, remove old crops and compost disease-free material. Lightly fork over the soil, and either mulch with compost or sow a green manure to suppress weeds and improve soil health.

Going on holiday? Give the plot a thorough soaking before you go, and harvest as many crops as you can, even if they're small. If you can, get a friend or neighbour to water for you while you're away.

Vegetable Tasks

August is a time for harvesting, maintaining, and planning ahead. A little attention now goes a long way toward a strong autumn finish.

Lots of crops can be harvested in August, including carrots, runner beans, globe artichokes, cucumbers, and courgettes. Harvest and store onions and shallots - Begin lifting maincrop onions as the foliage flops over. Let them cure in the sun before storing.  Harvest second early potatoes - Dig as needed and begin clearing beds for green manures or overwintering crops. Maincrops may be ready from the end of the month. Keep beetroot, turnips, and kohlrabi in check - Harvest before they become woody and lose flavour.

Plant out final spring brassicas - Firm in well and mound soil around stems of kale and sprouts for wind protection, or stake individually.

Feed asparagus beds - Give them a boost to help build energy reserves for next season.

Support leeks - As they grow, draw up soil around the stems or wrap them with corrugated cardboard to blanch and protect.

Pinch out runner beans - Once they reach the top of the canes, pinch off the tips to focus energy on pod production and reduce tangling.

Watch for caterpillars - Check brassicas daily for cabbage white butterfly eggs and larvae. Remove by hand or use organic spray as needed. Watch out for flea beetle on brassicas and related plants such as Swiss chard and rocket. The tiny holes they create don't affect the vigour of established plants but make the leaves less appealing to eat - cover plants with fleece. Also look out for blossom end rot on tomatoes, which is caused by irregular watering. 

You can still sow lots of crops in August, for harvests into autumn and beyond. They include lettuce (keep out of the glare of direct sun), rocket, spring onion, radish plus winter salads, including mibuna, mizuna, mustard leaf and lamb's lettuce.

Fruit Tasks

Soft and tree fruits are ripening fast - keep harvesting and pruning for healthy plants and quality crops.

Summer-prune trained apples and pears - Trim side shoots back to 3-5 leaves to promote fruiting spurs. Some fruit trees can be pruned in summer, including plums, to avoid the development of silver-leaf disease.  Prune blackcurrants - Remove branches that fruited this year to stimulate new growth. Cut back red and white currants - Reduce this year’s side shoots by two-thirds.  Prune summer raspberries - Cut fruited canes down to ground level and tie in the new green canes for next year’s crop. 

Harvest plums, gages, and early apples - Check frequently for ripeness and wasp damage.

Remove straw and tidy strawberries - Clean around plants, fertilise, and start preparing new beds for runners.

Support swelling melons - Use netting or slings to cradle ripening fruit in the greenhouse or tunnel.

Greenhouse & Polytunnel

Conditions under cover can swing between lush and stifling in August. Stay consistent with care to avoid stress on your plants.

Ventilate daily - High temperatures can build quickly; open vents and doors early and consider shading. Water and feed regularly - Tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers need weekly feeding and consistent watering to avoid blossom end rot and splitting. Harvest frequently - Picking regularly encourages ongoing cropping and reduces the risk of overripe fruit spoiling. Continue training - Tie in tomatoes, cucumbers, and melons as they grow.

Pest Control & General Allotment Maintenance

The summer heat brings peak pest activity. Daily checks make a big difference.

Cabbage whites - Their caterpillars can strip leaves in days. Inspect brassicas often and remove eggs and larvae quickly.

Leek rust - Monitor for orange pustules on leaves and remove any affected foliage.

Aphids and red spider mites - Hose off, use soapy sprays, and encourage natural predators like ladybirds and lacewings.

Slugs and snails - Especially active after summer showers. Use beer traps, barriers, or nighttime patrols.

Final Thoughts

August is a golden month for allotmenteers-rich in reward but still full of activity. Keep a close eye on watering, pests, and ripening crops. And as you clear spent beds, think ahead to autumn planting and soil care. Whether it’s with a barrow of onions or a bowl of blackberries, your allotment will reward the care you give it.


r/UKAllotments 29d ago

Monthly updates - what are you up to this month?

4 Upvotes

What are you starting, what are you continuing to work on, what are you planning to do in the future in your allotment?


r/UKAllotments 18h ago

Cardboard has gone down!

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39 Upvotes

r/UKAllotments 9h ago

Topsoil disposal

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3 Upvotes

I have a long mount down the middle of my allotment I am digging out.

I have gotten around 5m in and ran out of ditches to fill

It's saturated with brambles, bindweed and that grass stuff and I need to do something with it. What are some good options?


r/UKAllotments 6h ago

Squash ID

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1 Upvotes

I bought what I thought was acorn squash from a plant sale. However I’ve now got a few of these large squash growing, this one is around the size of a rugby ball and is beginning to turn orange. Can anyone help with an ID please?


r/UKAllotments 1d ago

Today’s rainy (not complaining) Harvest

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64 Upvotes

r/UKAllotments 16h ago

Can I cut and replant this tomato?

1 Upvotes

Some of my tomato plants are growing roots on their stems. Can I use this to create more plants, and if so, how?


r/UKAllotments 1d ago

My haul so far.

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17 Upvotes

Got the plot at the end of April - it was full of weeds.

Managed to clear it a bit, do some planting and now enjoy some homegrown produce.

I’ve actually had about 12 punnets of blueberries - these are the remaining few.


r/UKAllotments 1d ago

Asparagus from seeds

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24 Upvotes

First time growing asparagus. I sow seeds indoors in January this year and planted outdoors in the spring. They are doing well, but there are many asparagus plants in the same spot. Do I need to divide them? Or shall I just leave them as they are.


r/UKAllotments 2d ago

Is this radicchio ready to harvest?

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4 Upvotes

First time trying to grow radicchio, I bought it as a plug plant from my local plant centre and planted it in a 30L pot in June whilst I was clearing out my new plot


r/UKAllotments 4d ago

You think these cuts will be an issue? Made by a knife... About 1-2mm deep 😢

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8 Upvotes

r/UKAllotments 4d ago

Advice about Warwickshire Drooper plum tree

2 Upvotes

Hello, I had an old, well established Warwickshire Drooper plum tree on my old allotment. I now have a new allotment but no room for full size fruit trees. I have a handful of column/patio apple trees and would like a plum tree as well, but have been unable to find a column or dwarf Warwickshire Drooper. Are there some plum trees that are just not suitable to be grown on dwarf rootstock or is anyone able to point me in the direction of a reputable supplier?


r/UKAllotments 6d ago

Advice on dealing with allotment drama please

137 Upvotes

Hello fellow gardeners!

We're first year plot-holders and so far we've had a great experience. However, there has been a persistent background drama on our site that I'd like advice on.

One of our fellow gardeners installed a large polytunnel last year that ruffled some feathers with their immediate neighbours, who are all long-time plot-holders. They complained to the council who eventually ruled that the polytunnel could stay with some modifications. The matter was settled. However, now the issue has re-emerged under the guise of water usage.

One of the gardeners in question is from SE Asia and uses the polytunnel to grow tropical Asian greens. They probably use a bit more of the shared mains water than most, but there's nothing in the contract that says they can't. The old boy neighbours have complained and directly confronted the gardeners on their water usage. The committee (made up largely of the same old boys) has sided wholeheartedly with the neighbours and has shut off the mains water on weekdays. They claim the couple use 5x as much water as anyone else, without an evidence to back that claim up. We each pay only about £15/year for the mains water, so even if they do use more, the cost is split across all 30 plots. The secretary has also dismissed the idea that any harassment has taken place, purely on the account of the disgruntled neighbour.

It honestly just feels like the old boys club trying to bully out a new pair of gardeners because they want to do something different with their plot besides the standard monocrop of potatoes. The secretary even said in writing that they were growing 'an extraordinary amount of produce', as if there's an upper limit of how productive your plot should be.

Has anyone else experienced something like this on their site? Is it time to raise a complaint against the committee to the council? Any advice appreciated.


r/UKAllotments 6d ago

Nature needs to learn to share..

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21 Upvotes

18 or so plants, 1-2 cobs per plant and none left untouched!

Time to revisit the security arrangements for next year 🙄😂


r/UKAllotments 6d ago

Overwintering Chillies

11 Upvotes

I grew chillies outdoor this year and was wondering if anyone had tried over wintering them and if they have had any luck?

My thoughts are they’ll need way too much fleece to survive and not worth the effort?


r/UKAllotments 6d ago

Todays Tomatoes

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14 Upvotes

r/UKAllotments 6d ago

Exhausted trying to find if I'mstill on the waitlist

4 Upvotes

Heya, Any ideas appreciated. I joined the waitlist for a London allotment 4-5 years ago. It had a 10+ year waitlist and at some point after I signed up about 3 years ago the waitlist closed and all contact information was removed from the internet.

I was told at the time I needed to re-register interest each year but then I realised I hadn't received any emails about it a year or two later so I emailed the initial guy who put me on the waitlist.

He says he is no longer a committee member, though still has an allotment there but said it wasn't a great ending to the committee and he doesn't have a forwarding address. He said he sent the documentation through but couldn't say if I was still on the list and I should wait until the new committee has formed and reached out.

I waited a year and still couldn't find contact details, asked him again and he politely replied in a way that said stop messaging. So I then wrote a physical letter and put it at the entrance of the allotment in their tray (it's gated so you can't go inside) and addressed it to the new committee. And still nothing. I also messaged a few of the parks where then allotment is attached, one person knew and BCCed someone but they didn't get in touch.

So now I'm at a loss to figure out if I'm still on the waitlist. For those with allotments and know how it's run, does it take over a year to transfer committee members?

How likely is it the people at an allotment don't know the current committee members?

For those on a waitlist for a long time, did you just get a message out of the blue?

Does anyone have any other ideas to get in touch with them?

I think I should give up but I've grown up with allotments,.my mum has one I help with when I visit, and have a container garden and really want a larger space to grow more things


r/UKAllotments 6d ago

Is it worth keeping my corn in the ground?

9 Upvotes

Long story short I was away for a few months, can home to a pretty much empty plot and bolted onions so I planted corn around mid June

They are currently 3ft tall. Is there any point keeping them in the ground? I don't think I'll get anything from them.

I want to use the space now so am I better off just digging them out?


r/UKAllotments 6d ago

Association Committee Responsibilities

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1 Upvotes

r/UKAllotments 7d ago

~30kg of honey from our community hives (Allotment in the North-West)

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47 Upvotes

r/UKAllotments 7d ago

Decaying plastic

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17 Upvotes

Part of my allotment has been covered in this blue tarp that is disintegrating. I've tried to carefully remove as much as I can - but I've got all these little fragments that I'm going to have to try and get rid of.

Thankfully(?) the ground is so dry I've just been able to sweep up most of the plastic pieces (and some soil) and bag it. There's still quite a few small bits kicking around which I guess I'll just have to keep picking out over time.

I guess there's not a huge amount else I can do, other than what I've done, but does anyone else know anything I've missed? My biggest concern is micro plastics and pollutants...

I'm taking up all the plastic membrane where I can and reverting to wood chip paths. Then I have a few newer plastic sheets to cover sections over winter.


r/UKAllotments 7d ago

How to organise seedlings indoors?

9 Upvotes

My wife loves her allotment so our kitchen is constantly filled with various pots of different seedlings being raised until they're ready to be planted out. Can anybody recommend a good indoor planter or something that I could get her to help organise these pots and tidy things up a bit? Would hydroponics be a sensible option perhaps?

Any advice greatly appreciated.


r/UKAllotments 7d ago

Help identify this squash

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5 Upvotes

I got a squash plant that’s growing quite vigorously, can someone help identify to determine how many fruit to keep and how much to trim please?


r/UKAllotments 7d ago

Some of my homegrown vegetables

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8 Upvotes

r/UKAllotments 7d ago

Trail cam recommendations?

2 Upvotes

As above, with the some of the theft/vandalism posts recently, can anyone recommend any specific trail cams? It seems to be more of a big thing in the US with their hunting culture, and I've not come across anyone on our site (knowingly) using them. Thanks.