Gardening Calendar - August Gardening Tips_02
Monday, August 18th, 2008
In the last episode, we talked about water conservation and watering your lawn. Your container plants and hanging baskets need to be checked everyday on hot days and every other day on moderate summer days.
Don’t just check the surface of the soil surface press your finger an inch or two into the soil and check the root zone to make sure there’s enough moisture.
Your plants need to be watered thoroughly but do not over water them.
In another episode we talked about dividing Agapanthus. You can use these same tips and methods to divide your day lilies.
If you’re starting fall perennials from seed, sow them directly into the soil in your garden. You can you start planting them in August or September.
August is a great time to plant your fall blooming crocus. This will give them an extra week or two of flowers after your main garden plants finish blooming for the year.
Prune your summer blooming shrubs, after they’ve finished flowering and remove any diseased or dead branches.
Your gardens appearance will really improve if you just take a few minutes and pinch off the old dead flowers from your Zinnias, Marigolds, and other annuals, this goes the same for your perennials.
If you can pinch the blooms off as soon as they die back it will encourage the plants to produce more flowers. Once they’ve gone to seed, flower production will drastically reduce or stop.
For your fall vegetable garden, now’s the time to get started planting. You can plant your seeds or starter plants directly into the garden.
Beets, carrots, green onions, lettuce, radishes, and spinach are some of the most popular vegetables to grow in your winter garden.
As you continue through August you need to be vigilant in watching for snails, slugs, and bugs.
Now I have given you some more garden tasks for August.
Choosing The Correct Weed Spray
Friday, August 15th, 2008
Determine what your target weed is so that you can apply the correct weed spray. There are two basic type of weeds, broad leaf weeds and grassy type weeds.
There are other types of weeds but those are the two main types we have to deal with on a regular basis. The wrong kind of grass in your lawn or planter is considered a grassy weed. Most of the types of broad leaf weeds have leaves that are more rounded.
When looking for the correct weed spray to apply always read the label first. This will help you to determine if you’re using the correct chemical and also the amount recommended to be used for each application.
Once you’ve identified the type of weed that you’re going to target. Follow the label directions in order to not over apply and unintentionally kill your other plants.
Remember, always read and follow the label.
Sprinklers Garden and Lawn
Monday, August 11th, 2008Your main task in August is going to be weeds and watering. These should be on the short list. Make sure you keep on top of your weeds. Weeds will suck the water out of the ground and and rob it from your plants.
Weeds can make a nice landscape look unsightly. In the past few months there have been a lot of homes that have been foreclosed on. When people move away and either abandon their home or are pushed out by the banks. The first thing that starts to suffer is their landscape.
The water gets shut off and the landscape starts to die. This takes a toll on the whole neighborhood, because only 1 yard looking bad in a neighborhood will detract from a nice area. Multiply this by hundreds for the current times, and you will see that whole neighborhoods are looking really sad.
A lot of areas in the country are in a drought situation now. There hasn’t been any rain to speak of this summer. It is a big turnaround from just a few short months ago when there were devastating floods.
Water conservation is going to be a priority for the coming year. As long as you deep water. This will help you keep water around the root zone where the plants need it.
Shallow short waterings do not help the plants it is a waste of water. The cycles need to be long enough to allow water to penetrate the soil. Of course water runoff will not grow concrete.
Some areas require you to only water on certain days. The agencies will cite homeowners and businesses who choose not to follow their guidelines. Check with your local agency for your water days.
Broken sprinklers are another problem, and will waste a lot of water. Also sprinklers out of adjustment will not water properly and again, will waste water.
If you are on a water ration, and you can not keep enough water on your grass to keep the green. Yes, it will turn brown, but never fear. During the heat and dry at times, grass will go through a dormancy as soon as water is reapplied your grass will come back. The only problem is the weeds have a tendency to do well even when the grass is gone dormant.
