Summer Garden Tips

• Fertilize your roses, annuals and perennials regularly.
• Water beds deeply but infrequently. Containers may need water daily.
• Dead head spent blossoms from flowers including bulbs.
• Pinch back mums and asters to reduce size and prevent early blooming.
• Plant out tender summer bulbs such as dahlias and tuberous begonias.
• Watch for snails and slug damage. Set beer traps or or place sharp grit around the base of plants.
• Stake tall flowers to prevent damage from thunderstorms.

Lawn & Landscape

• Control White Grub in turf.
• Fungi in your hardwood mulch? Remember they are just doing their job -improving your soil.
• Raise your mower height to 2 1/2″-3″.
• Check for bagworms on spruces and junipers. Spray with Bt when they are 1/2-3/4 “.
• Replace sugar solution in hummingbird feeder every other day to prevent spoilage which is toxic.

• Water berries deeply during fruit development.
• Use bird netting to protect fruit.
• The soil is warm enough to plant out sweet potato slips.
• Pinch back herbs to prevent them from blooming.
• You can plant sweet corn, late potatoes, summer squash, bush beans, parsnips, and cucumbers.
• Side-dress, fertilize already established plants – beans, cucumber, cantaloupe, corn, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes. If using 10-10-10, 1 cup per 10 foot row.
• Plant pumpkins around June 15.
• Begin a fungicide program for tomatoes. Mancozeb, maneb, daconil and copper based fungicide give protection if started now.

July

• Continue fertilizing roses until August.
• Pinch side shoots off dahlia shoots to increase bloom size.
• While dividing and transplanting iris, look for iris bore.
• Continue pinching back mums.
• Fertilize containers regularly. You may need to water twice per day.
• Water beds in the morning to prevent disease.
• Continue to deadhead annuals to lengthen bloom time.

• Water trees, shrubs, and lawn infrequently but deeply giving special attention to newly planted ones.
• Sharpen mower blades.
• Maintain mower height at 2 1/2″-3″.
• Keep your birdbath filled and cleaned.
• Keep hummingbird feeders full as there are a lot of mouths to feed now.

• At the beginning of July, plant more sweet corn, bush beans, beets, Swiss chard, melons, okra, potatoes, field peas, and summer squash.
• Start seeds for fall garden – broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage.
• Fertilize strawberries.
• If you haven’t done it yet, make pesto!

August

• Continue watering deeply but infrequently.
• Cutback and fertilize annuals to encourage rebloom. This works for some perennials too!
• Start collecting seed and taking cuttings of favorite plants.
• Watch your use of pesticides and fungicides. Hot, humid weather can cause leaf scorch.

• Raise your mower blade height by an inch to prevent scorching.
• If you are planning on replacing your lawn this fall now is a good time to start killing it off.
• Keep watering.
• Be on the look out for fall webworm, sawflies, contact the Jefferson County Cooperative for advice on insect and disease concerns.

• High daytime temperatures may prevent veggie flowers from developing. They will continue once temps drop.
• Transplant broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower by August 15.
• Plant seeds of edible prodded peas, bush beans, radishes, beets, spinach turnips, lettuce and greens.
• Divide rhubarb plants if not done in spring.