While it’s still too soon to predict the kind of scorching temperatures we saw in Summer 2024, the Met Office has cautiously stated that we currently have “an above-average chance of warmer-than-average conditions” coming to the UK.
In the wake of 2024’s brutal heatwaves across Europe, Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess said: “Temperature-related extreme events witnessed this summer will only become more intense,” and we’re already seeing unseasonably warm temperatures even in May.
As part of her list of essential gardening jobs for June, Which? Magazine’s gardening expert Ceri Thomas has a special tip for greenhouse-owners that may well have never crossed your mind before: watering your greenhouse floor.
Ceri explains: “To keep your greenhouse cool in warm weather, make sure you come in every morning, open up the windows, check the vents are open, and then pour water on the greenhouse floor.
“As it evaporates,” she says, “it will increase the humidity, and help cool down the temperatures.”
While greenhouses are a boon for vegetable gardeners, helping protect delicate seedlings from overnight frosts in the Spring and Autumn, they can quickly turn stifling on hot days, drying out pot plants and doing untold harm to roots.
Ceri adds that, once the weather warms up, we not only get slugs and snails, but the heat also attracts airborne pests, such as aphids and black fly.
She explains: “You can spray them with a solution of soft soap if you’re an organic gardener, or you can use an insecticide recommended for use on fruits and veg.”
If you’d prefer not to spray, the other alternative is to erect a “tent” of fine gardeners’ mesh over your beds, which which will help keep out any flying pests.
While you’re looking out for threats, don’t overlook any treats that come your way.
“Keep your eye on your strawberries, as they’re ripening all the time,” Ceri says. “The joy of growing your own is you can wait until they’re perfectly red all the way around.”
Looking further ahead, even though it’s still warm, now is the time to ideal time to start thinking about your Christmas dinner.
By the end of May, you should have planted your Brussels sprouts, Ceri says, and even in early June there’s still time to be planting brassicas, such as black kale, ready for the winter.
“The secret with planting any of the brassicas,” she adds, “is to make sure you get them in really firmly, so they won’t come up. they’ll rip rather than come up if you pull them.”
If the weather does warm up as expected, keep a close eye on your brassicas. Ceri advises: “Water them really well if we get dry spells. Otherwise, the plants will wilt, and they won’t get off to a great start.”