Dog days of summer, and your garden.

Ron La Fleur: August Garden Chores
August Garden Chores!

Thanks to The Growers Exchange for this info!  (http://theexchange.thegrowers-exchange.com)  August Gardening Chores: Ten Tips for A Tip Top Garden!

August is an unforgiving month.  The summer sun is at its peak and in many zones, rainfall has been scarce. Your plants are going into survival mode and need a little pick me up, before they either bolt or kick the bucket. With our tips for August gardening, your plants will perk up and look as good as the day you planted them!

1) Pruning is key right now: To keep your favorite plants healthy and happy, make sure to break out your scissors and prune your plants back. It’s best to do this in the evening when the sun isn’t as intense, and don’t get too scissor-happy –a moderate trimming will do wonders to add shape and strength to your plants. We recommend our Best Gardening Scissor for pruning small plants.

2) Don’t lose your head over fading blooms…lose theirs: We mean deadheading of course! For many flowering shrubs and annuals, you can continue to enjoy two or even three rounds of beautiful blooms that will last you into the fall by removing spent blossoms from your favorite flowers.

3) Pinch your herbs: Not to be a bully, but pinching your herbs back before they go to bolt will allow you to enjoy a more pleasant flavor. In this sweltering heat, plants tend to bolt more quickly, conserving their energy and using it to produce seed.  Prolong their useful (and delicious) life by keeping them pinched tightly for tastier herbs.

4) Weed like the wind: The more unwanted stragglers you can prevent from popping up overnight, the less you’ll have to deal with when they begin to go to seed and spread. Weeding your garden regularly also saves what little water may still be lingering in the soil, for your plants to use.

5) Put your woody plants on a diet: Now’s the time to begin hardening them off for winter. Don’t fertilize woody plants like Rosemary again until spring. Doing so now only encourages growth at the tips, not strong growth in the plant’s core.

6) Turn on the waterworks: Your garden is at its thirstiest right now. Make sure to water in the early morning or late afternoon, around the sun’s schedule. If possible, rotate a soaker hose that will continuously drip water in to the dried, powdery soil so that it actually penetrates down to the roots, without just evaporating. Focus your watering on tender young plants, as they don’t have the most established root systems yet.

7) Protect your pots: Don’t neglect your potted plants. Especially those that are in terra cotta or clay pottery. Make sure to continuously water them, as with the added heat and the seepage from their pot, they tend to lose moisture quickly. Try a self watering pot!

8) Make your bed: Get ready for this fall by beginning to prepare your garden beds. Layer your fall garden with grass clippings (or just neglect weeding for a week or so) and lay down wet cardboard, topped with compost and mulch. This will help encourage healthier soil and give the earthworms plenty to nibble on.

9) Movin on up: Time to repot your houseplants! Don’t overwhelm them by moving them from a condo to a castle, just give them a few inches more and they’ll be very comfortable. It’s a good time for this now, as they can get plenty of sunshine while it’s hot out and excess water can seep out of the soil without lingering and causing your plant any “wet feet.”

10) Mulch ado about nothing: Make sure to re-mulch your beds to retain moisture and to help plants stay cool.”

Again, Thanks to The Growers Exchange: Where gardeners go to grow. Check them out, there is all sorts of good stuff on their site! http://www.thegrowers-exchange.com

 

Briscoe White is owner and head grower at The Growers Exchange (http://www.thegrowers-exchange.com), an all-natural online garden center that specializes in rare and traditional herbs for culinary, aromatic and medicinal use. He has been in business for over twenty years, but his love of nature and gardening date back ever since he can remember. Member of many garden and nature-related organizations including the Garden Writers Association and The Herb Society of America, when not tending his greenhouse or writing for his blog, Briscoe’s Seeds For Thought, he spends what little free time he has planning his next garden and playing with his dogs on his family farm in Charles City, Virginia.