gardening tips & links
July horticultural hints by Betty Sanders
We have had a very wet spring – meaning the need for irrigation has been nearly non-existent. But even with two inches of rain at the end of June, much of New England is solidly in an ‘early-stage’ drought condition. As such, we all need to think twice before running for the hose. Most trees, shrubs, lawns and perennials do well during dry periods if they have been in the ground for a couple of years. Watering early (finished before 9 a.m.) or late in the day (after 6 or 7 p.m.) reduces water loss to evaporation. Evergreen care. If you do your hedge trimming on evergreens now, you are catching them at the end of a growth period, so the results will last until next spring. More importantly, any growth that does occur will have time to harden off before the cold weather arrives. Perennial time. July is a month when many perennial flowers take center stage. Weeding is vital to keep the plants the main attraction. Use hand tools to slice weed roots so you don’t disturb the roots of the plants you want. Water regularly if Mother Nature doesn’t. Deadheading perennials to keep the garden more attractive can also lead to repeat blooms on many plants such as salvia, geraniums and even delphiniums. Remove fading flowers from annuals, perennials and bulbs, putting them into your compost pile as long as there is no sign of disease. Finally, trim back any perennials or annuals that are getting too vigorous and taking over their neighbor’s space. Compost tip. Growing plants consume the nutrients in the soil, so replace them naturally with good compost as a mulch. You’ll get two jobs done (mulching and fertilizing) in one. And, unlike chemical fertilizers, they improve the soil health at the same time. Aphid control. A strong spray from a hose will knock aphids and other insects to the ground where they often become someone else’s dinner. Spraying with pesticides should always be the last resort – and done with great caution because they will kill many beneficial insects and are harmful to other animals (including humans). |
Cut back those annuals. If they aren’t allowed to go to seed, many summer-flowering plants will rebloom. Annuals particularly benefit from being cut back before producing seeds; the shorter, more compact plants will often continue flowering until cold fall weather arrives. In the vegetable garden. Vegetables need regular watering to produce well. Dry spells stunt the plants and reduce the size of the crop they produce. But you can save water by keeping plants mulched, watering in the early morning or just before sunset when you won’t lose water to evaporation. Mildew can be a problem on basil, keep leaves dry by watering at the root level. t’s too early for most tomatoes yet, but you should be harvesting green beans, lettuce, peas, beets, chard and onions among others. Plant seeds of lettuce, carrots, beets and oriental greens deeper now than you did in the spring so they do not dry out too quickly on hot days. Replant zucchini and green beans when the first batch blooms, keeping the new plants under floating row covers to exclude squash borers and bean beetles. Though row cover looks opaque, they allow plenty of sunlight and water into the plants. If you have Squash vine borers, a treatment that will not poison anything is a product called ‘Surround’. Sprayed on stems, it forms a clay coating the borers cannot penetrate, while allowing the plant to thrive.
Time to pinch. If you missed your Fathers Day pruning of plants such as chrysanthemum and asters, start with an early July pinching. This leads to later flowers, but bushier plants with more blooms and a tidier habit. I also cut back some of my balloon flower (Plactycodon) and bee balm (Monarda), dianthus, coneflower (Echinacea), Helenium, and veronica. By pinching or trimming back one or two leaf sets of the plants at the front. I get an early bloom from the untouched stems at the rear and a later, bushier bloom from the remainder. It keeps your garden going stronger and longer. You can read more of Betty's horticultural advise on her website, www.BettyOnGardening.com. She is a lifetime Master Gardener. |
Videos from fellow Member, Matt Martin
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