Enjoying a variety of produce with Monty
Monty Don's Summer Garden Tips: Focus on Courgettes and General Planting
In the latest episode of Gardener's World, Monty Don shared valuable insights on preparing the vegetable garden for summer crops, with a particular focus on courgettes.
Monty emphasised the importance of planting courgettes in conditions with maximum light to encourage strong growth. He suggested planting on a north-south axis to ensure even light distribution and solid growth all over the plant. This underscores the significance of site selection and orientation for successful transplanting of courgettes.
When it comes to transplanting courgettes, Monty demonstrated the process with well-developed plants of varieties 'Gold Rush' and 'Nero Di Milano'. By the end of May, he transplanted these courgettes after clearing vegetable beds.
Monty also provided advice on how many courgette plants to grow and when to pick the fruits to ensure good harvests all summer.
As for other crops, such as tomatoes, brassicas, and climbing French beans, while no explicit transplanting tips from Monty were found in the search results, typical practices consistent with Monty's organic, attentive style would include:
- Tomatoes: Planting deep to encourage strong root systems, avoiding wet conditions at the base to prevent rot, and staking early.
- Brassicas (e.g., cabbage, broccoli): Harden off seedlings before transplanting, ensure good soil fertility and moisture, and protect from pests.
- Climbing French beans: Provide sturdy supports at the time of transplanting, plant in warm soil, and space appropriately to allow climbing.
These general practices align with Monty Don's known gardening philosophy but are not specifically cited in the search results.
Meanwhile, the task of sowing beans outside can be done from the end of this month until mid-summer, as demonstrated by Monty with the variety 'Eva'. He also planted out a variety of climbing French bean called 'Eva', explaining the sowing outside can be done from the end of this month until mid-summer.
With the purple-sprouting broccoli crops coming to an end, it's time to plant out tender vegetables like courgettes. Monty's red cabbage seedlings are suitable for seed beds, which are useful for starting off many types of vegetables, including brassicas.
In summary, Monty’s documented advice from the recent video focuses mainly on lighting and orientation for courgettes transplantation, highlighting the importance of soil light exposure to maximize growth. For the other crops, no direct transplanting tips from Monty were found in the search results, leaving typical best practices as likely methods.
[1] Source: July 2, 2025 Gardener's World episode featuring Monty Don.
- Monty Don's focus on courgettes in his summer garden tips extends to the importance of selecting a suitable home and garden, ensuring proper lighting and site orientation for strong growth.
- As the gardening season progresses, Monty also advocates for planting out tender vegetables like courgettes, such as his red cabbage seedlings, in appropriate conditions to ensure a healthy lifestyle for the plants and a bountiful harvest.
