August Tips

August Tips

Increasingly dry weather means diligent -- and smart -- watering.

Watering -- Watering chores are what will eat up your garden time this month. Remember the basics: Water in the early morning. Water the soil, not the leaves. Water deeply and occasionally shallow and often. Educate yourself by taking a trowel after a watering or two and digging down a bit to see how deeply the water has penetrated. Also, when running the sprinkler, set out a pan so you can gauge just how much you're applying.

If mature plants are flopping, tie them up or use plant supports or stakes (criss-crossed like an X with ends inserted in the soil) to keep them upright and to prevent them from smothering neighboring plants.

If an annual is struggling, at this point, just pull it up and pitch it.
If a perennial is sickly or looking otherwise awful, cut it back to just a few inches. It will come back this year or next spring with healthier growth.
If whitefly is a problem, spray the affected plants for several mornings in a row to reduce the problem. If that doesn't work, use an insecticidal soap product.

Drought Survival for Your Lawn -- If your lawn is turning brown, that's because it's gone dormant. You have two choices: Allow it to continue in its dormancy by not watering, or bring it out of dormancy with good, regular waterings. The one thing you won't want to do is to bring it out of dormancy repeatedly -- a very stressful situation for turf grass. If you're going to water, keep up with the watering. For more information, check out our lawn drought-survival tips.

Continue to mow regularly, your best defense against weeds. If you haven't already, make sure you're mowing grass high, about 3 inches -- not making it too short and "scalping" it, which damages the grass and opens up areas for weeds to germinate.
Avoid pruning evergreens when it's so hot. And pruning them in the fall will encourage fresh new growth that may get nipped by winter's cold. It's best at this point to wait until next spring.

Harvesting Vegetables -- Keep with the harvest from your vegetable garden. Be sure to pick small and often. Corn is ready when the tassels start to turn brown and a kernel, when pierced with a thumbnail, runs barely milky.

Mulch Matters -- You may need to replenish mulches, especially those that break down quickly, such as straw or grass clippings. Mulch should be 1-3 inches thick.

Whack Your Weeds -- Time weeding for after a good rain. Weeds come out easier and with more of the root.

Deadheading 101 -- Keep deadheading! For the most flowers and tidiest garden, deadhead daily.