Did you know you need to thin your seedlings as they grow? Monty Don has shared the important reason why

Summer is a great time to be out in the garden tending to plants. With so much new growth, there's lots to be done to ensure your leafy friends truly thrive, and this includes thinning your seedlings.

Whilst you may know how often to water your seedlings to ensure they establish, plants at this stage need a little more attention to help them grow to full adult size. Especially with your veggies and fruits, which need a little more encouragement to produce those tasty home-grown foods.

Sharing his seasonal advice on BBC Gardeners' World, gardening professional Monty Don explains that now is a great time to start thinning out your seedlings.

Now this practice might seem rather wasteful, but much like with pruning tomato plants, the sacrifices you make now will ensure bigger and better growth further down the line.

Whilst you're sorting out your garden this month and tending to your plants, young or old, you might want to add this to your list of July gardening jobs.

"Sowing seed directly into the soil can save a lot of time, and when the weather is warm, the seedlings will pop up in no time," says the Gardeners' World experts via their Instagram @gardenersworldtv.

"But to get nice healthy plants, they’ll need room to grow, so it’s a good idea to give them a thin before they get too big," they add.

Growing your plants from seeds is a great way to keep costs down in your garden, and although it does mean a little more work, once you learn the basics, it's a walk in the park.

“Any seedlings sown in rows will need thinning. I’ve got wallflowers here, but it applies to any seeds you might sow and at this time of year, particularly vegetables," explains Monty.

"Thinning the rows themselves from the edges, just removing any clumps and groups so you’re down to one single line," he continues.

"Then in a week or so, as the seedlings grow bigger, you can start to thin them to the required spacing,” Monty finishes.

If you do want to keep the discarded seedlings, you can plant them elsewhere or even add them to seedling trays, but they might not establish. Otherwise, adding them to your homemade compost heap will ensure their organic matter isn't wasted.

Thinning your seedlings should be on your summer gardening jobs list; however, even plants sown for autumn and winter growth will need the same attention when the time comes.