July is the time to sow, grow, treat (for bugs) and pick treats, strawberries being the favourites, particularly for children. I can remember as a weevlet, in the middle of winter, and all of five years old, being successfully bribed by my mother: if I didn’t finish up all my school lunches instead of surreptitiously slipping them to Steven the school dustbin, I wouldn’t be allowed any of these delicious fruit from our garden the following summer. Thus the horrid food proceeded down the little red lane, stewed cabbage and all. I wasn’t going to miss out on strawbugs along with homemade cream made from our own thick Ayrshire cows’ milk.
Fresh tomatoes are another children’s target in the potager. Now is the moment to pinch toms’ sideshoots out. Do this at the axis of the leaves as early as possible to avoid damaging the plant and leaving an entry for the dreaded blight spores. Keep only the leaves coming out of the central stem. Remove any dying ones, and any of those shading fruits from the sun. Dispose of them away from your tomato patch, again to stop blight spreading.

Cabbage and turnips
Watch out for the caterpillars of the large white butterfly – piéride de choux. Pick them and other beasties off members of the cabbage families, such as brussels and turnips, rather than spraying.

Tarragon
Tarragon can be divided now. Save clumps which have good healthy roots. Cut down to 10cm above the collet (where the stem meets the roots) and plant them 30cm apart. Bury the collet slightly below the soil level.

Carrots and courgettes
Sow carrots and thin those sown last month. Space the lines 20cm apart in deep soil, light and rich in humus. If your soil isn’t sandy, they’ll appreciate it if you add some. They also like a little dressing of sawdust and coffee grounds so have a word with your local café and sawmill. Avoid pebbly soil unless you like the aspect of the funny looking ones, taking photos and sending them to magazines and friends. Treat against carrot fly and if possible sow them near leeks or other onion kin as the smell will confuse the wretched mouche. Watch out too for mildew, odium and carrot greenfly.
To be more confident of courgettes at the end of the season, you can still sow some in godets (potlets) at the beginning of July. Plant three to four weeks later. It’s surprisingly easy to overdo courgettes so unless you have lots of town friends to whom you can give any surplus, bear in mind that two plants are sufficient for a family of four. They really are worth growing though, as it’s difficult to judge the quality when buying them.

Salad days
At the beginning of the season, salades such as batavias, lettuces, romaines (Cos) etc are tender and at their best. Do try not to waste these by letting them go to seed. This is all too easy in sultry weather. Tip: should they be just starting to go to seed, eat the inside of the stem and the little tuffets of leaves at the extremities.
Newcomers to France may well find that some French produce, namely endives, some courgettes, some salades (eg, rocket) and various alcoholic drinks with herbs, such as Suze, Izarra and Génépi, are a trifle bitter. In the country, it’s common practice to eat dandelion leaves as a purge at the onset of spring. So keep going. Most acquired tastes are worth it in the end. All these bitter things are meant to be good for you and helpful for the digestion, but don’t let me put you off.

cabbage whites from www.insectes-net.fr