Welcome gardening friends, thanks for stopping by!
AUGUST GARDENING THOUGHT….
It is hot in August and with family vacations, it is more challenging to get out in the yard. However, here are some August gardening to-do tasks that garnish some attention during this sunny and sweltering month! Choose those items that apply to your yard and skip over those that don’t. Enjoy your months of past labor and stay cool!
2017 August Gardening To-Do List
➺PEST CONTROL: Keep after those spider mites, use water hose to power-squirt them off or use insecticide; Control worms in apples, last spray; Pick hornworms off tomato plants; Watch for and treat Peach Tree Twig Borer affects apricots, cherries, nectarines, and peaches; Grasshoppers are bigger and hungrier, use Nolo bait; Yellow jackets now want meat and have established nests, may need control. Come in for organic products.
➺PLANT: Starting mid-August plant your cool fall garden veggies like kale, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. Until September 1, plant radishes!
➺DEEP WATER: Shrubs & trees
➺HARVEST: Know when to harvest vegetables at the peak of quality; Pick cucumbers regularly for better flavor and stronger production; Harvest herbs before they flower and early in the morning; Begin placing excess zucchini on neighbor’s front porch!
➺MAINTENANCE: Check sprinklers for even coverage and damaged heads. Keep up on weeding; don’t let weeds set seeds.
➺EATING YOUR GARDEN: Discover new recipes for zucchini
➺FERTILIZE: Roses, last time for the year; lawn, see below.
➺FRUIT TREES: After harvest, cut back on watering.
➺TURF/LAWN: Fertilize lawn with “Basic Training” (see our store for product). Continue to water according to the stress test. (Turn off sprinklers after good rain storms.) Expect winds to disturb sprinkler coverage.
➺GARDEN DIARY/NOTES: It’s hot out there! Now is a good time to sit and relax in the shade to evaluate your gardens. While it’s fresh in your mind, write notes of which plants you want to move around in the fall. What plants do you wish to add to your landscape in the fall or spring? Which plants need to be moved to a better location for more success next year? Make the list NOW rather than wait until winter passes and you possibly forget the details of your yard plans.
➺SHOWTIME: Exhibit your garden successes at county and state fairs. Invite family, neighbors, and friends over for some fresh strawberry lemonade in the evening whens it cools off!
➺ENJOY your yard; you’ve worked hard!
Be sure to check out September’s list!
