What are your bank holiday weekend plans? Avid gardeners will no doubt be spending their bank holiday watering, pruning and harvesting (weather allowing of course).

If you’re a green fingered type, we’ve put together a handy checklist for you of the top 10 gardening tasks to get stuck into over the next three days.

1. Check Your Mower Blades

We’re well into the mowing season by now. If you’ve been cutting your lawn regularly that’s great for keeping your grass healthy, but you may find that your mower blades have become a little blunt. If your mower isn’t cutting grass as efficiently or is yanking up blades of grass check the sharpness of the blades. Here’s how to sharpen them if necessary.

2. Replenish Trimmer Reel

Similarly if you’ve been using your grass trimmer a lot over the summer it’s worth checking the amount of line left on the reel. If you’re running low stock up in advance so you’re not caught short halfway through trimming the edges of your lawn!

3. Harvest Fruits and Vegetables

You’ve worked hard planting, watering, feeding and weeding. Now it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labour – literally! The whole family can enjoy the fruits and vegetables you’ve grown. If you have too much you can even win some brownie points by gifting your neighbours and friends with your fresh produce as well.

4. Collect Seeds

So you’ve planted seeds, nurtured them and reaped the rewards in the form of beautiful flowers and delicious fruits and vegetables. But the benefits don’t stop there! Save some money on seeds next year by collecting them from your plants now. You can store the seeds in empty spice jars – just make sure to label them for next year’s planting.

5. Tackle Weeds

Weed growth just like other plant growth is greater in the summer months. You don’t want weeds sucking up all the moisture from the ground and spreading their seeds across your garden. Now is the ideal time to break out the weed killer when the weeds have bigger leaves and are easier to spray.

6. Deadhead Flowering Plants

Pruning away dead flower heads doesn’t just improve the appearance of your garden; it also encourages more blooms on your plants. So grab a pair of secateurs and setting to work lopping off those brown wilting flowers.

7. Gather Herbs

If you have a herb garden you’ve hopefully been enjoying fresh herbs in your meals. But to get some herby goodness into your winter dinners too, gather extra herbs and dry them for use throughout the cold months. As with pruning, picking herbs will encourage new plant growth.

8. Prepare for Falling Leaves

Autumn is just around the corner so be prepared! Check the performance of garden appliances like garden vacuums and lawn rakes and carry out any repairs as necessary so that when leaves start falling you can keep your garden tidy.

9. Watering

When you’re watering your garden, especially on a hot day, watering in the mornings is best. That way the water seeps into the soil instead of evaporating in the sunshine and the chances of plant diseases are minimised as the sunshine dries the leaves throughout the day. So really keen gardeners might have to miss out on bank holiday lie-ins! Don’t forget to water your patio plants and hanging baskets too.

10. Consider Aerating your Lawn

Making holes in your lawn with a plug aerator helps water get to the roots of your grass keeping your lawn healthier. This is best done during the summer months to give the grass time to heal over so this weekend is probably one of your last chances to get the job done this year.

Gardening is a great way to soak up some sun, get some fresh air and stay active, but don’t spend the whole weekend working. Our last but not least tip is to take some time out to relax and enjoy your garden. After all that hard work you deserve it!

Tags: bank holiday, Gardening Tips