WE gardeners are an optimistic lot, we have to be, as for every success there is often a failure and nowhere is this more evident than on the allotment.

Our RHS practical students have small vegetable plots as part of their course and some crops such as broad beans and shallots have fared really well this year, others less so. The runner beans haven’t enjoyed the cold, dry weather and the courgettes likewise look stunted, but if summer does arrive we may still get a crop.

The cool weather has meant some flowers have lasted longer, I cannot remember a time when lilac was still in flower now. Fruit blossoms have been variable, my early flowering peach and apricots will have no fruit this year, due either to the late frost damaging the flowers or the lack of pollinators.

The bees do seem to have performed better elsewhere though. I hear that cherry farmers are expecting a bumper crop, our blackcurrants and gooseberries at college are laden whilst my strawberry patch at home is already making my mouth water with anticipation.

As a teenager I can recall working as a strawberry picker in the summer holidays. The pick your own industries were at their height then and whilst this type of fruit farm has declined, our British fruit farmers still produce some fine produce with a flavour not easily achievable with under-ripe imports.

You can of course grow your own, my sons seem to have both inherited their father’s fondness for strawberries, hence the reasonably sized strawberry bed, although even this at times is insufficient to satisfy the voracious appetite of the family. I still use straw to protect the fruits and cover the bed with soft netting which deters all but the most persistent pests.

With fruit it is important to grow not only what you like but also what you can use. Strawberries and raspberries require little preparation and have a wide variety of uses, in bumper years we just make more jam. As for raspberries I have always preferred autumn varieties especially when space is limited since they crop over a long period and at a time when fresh raspberries are expensive.

They also rarely suffer from the raspberry beetle maggots which can plague the summer-fruiting ones and are quite a turn off as you tuck in to a dishful, I’d rather leave the bush tucker trials to others. I have always grown Autumn Bliss but newer cultivars are heavier cropping.

Autumn strawberries are similarly not well known but greatly extend the season.

Growing a range of varieties of your favourite fruit is always worth considering anyway since some will fare better in some years than others. Gooseberries are a good example for whilst my own bushes are healthy and cropping well, recently I have had two students ask about common problems, namely gooseberry sawfly which defoliates plants rapidly and gooseberry mildew, a fungal disease which can cover the whole bush with a white coating. Both can be treated but vigilance is the key since once the problem is obvious it is often too late to save the crop.

Gooseberries are an excellent fruit for northern gardens but if you are put off by the sour-tasting culinary varieties try some of the dessert varieties that can be eaten straight from the bush. Early July is the time for harvesting gooseberries which I know can be a prickly task, there are some thornless varieties but better still grow them as a cordon so that fruits can be picked easily.

As we move into the summer one task that I find both rewarding and frustrating in equal measures is weeding. Weeding is one of those jobs that many gardeners hate and yet it needn’t be such a chore. Weeds are generally thought of as those plants that are in the wrong place and this is a reasonable accurate definition. The secret to successful weed control is to understand how the weeds grow and use techniques that control their spread.

Annual weeds only live for one season and can only reproduce by seed, many are plants of disturbed soils and so thrive on vegetable plots and cultivated soils. Annuals need to be controlled before they set seed otherwise the old saying of one years seeding, seven years weeding might seem somewhat optimistic.

In dry weather hoeing is an efficient method since most annuals will not regrow once the top growth is removed. Limiting soil cultivation and mulching will also help whilst on footpaths herbicides and flame guns are effective.

Perennial weeds live for two or more years and many will regrow from roots and underground stems. For most perennial weeds therefore you must remove the whole plant or treat it with a systemic weedkiller that will kill the roots. I am at the moment tackling a border at home infested with ground elder, well at least it’s not Japanese knotweed, remember the optimism?

Another seemingly never-ending job in summer is watering but for anyone growing plants in containers it is essential. Plants that are wilting are not growing and if left they will eventually die. If you have a lot of hanging baskets and other containers for annual bedding it is often worth considering investing in an automatic irrigation system, they are less expensive than you might imagine and will save hours of work.

Many fruits and vegetables will benefit from watering in dry weather. Drought can lead to bolting, fruit drop and reduced yields generally. Leaky pipes are often useful in the veg plot or under fruit since they are less wasteful with water than overhead sprinklers and deliver the water to where the plants need it. Watering like weeding at first seems a mundane task but like everything gardeners do the best techniques follow accepted scientific principles on how plants grow.

Through July there are numerous garden openings but not that many within the Craven district unfortunately. On Sunday, four gardens are open in Summerbridge and Dacre for the NGS. Highlights here include the wildflower meadow, full of orchids at Woodlands Cottage, the roses at Low Hall and fabulous garden art at Yorke House.

For gardeners willing to travel further afield, July plays host to two major RHS flower shows. Hampton Court Flower Show runs until Sunday and Tatton Park Flower Show is from July 22 to 26. If you cannot make it the BBC will be covering both events.