Things to Do in the August Garden

Just like every other month, August brings its own set of opportunities to the garden, including harvesting, watering, weeding and preparing your garden for the change in seasons. Whether you're growing in containers, raised beds or in-ground, a well-maintained garden yields better results and makes the transition into fall easier.   

 

 

August is typically the month when all your hard work comes to fruition. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, beans, and other garden favorites are starting to ripen now, so keeping up with harvesting is especially important. Harvesting regularly not only lets you enjoy your produce at its peak but also encourages plants to keep producing. 

 

When you pick ripe fruits, vegetables, or herbs, it tells the plant that it needs to produce more. Harvesting at the right time also ensures better taste, texture, and nutritional value and prevents crops from going to seed, which prolongs their productive phase.  

  

While you’re harvesting, take a hard look at your tomatoes and vegetables. Removing dead and diseased leaves on your tomato plants will put more energy into fruit production. Recognize common tomato problems such as blossom end rot (use Ready-To-Use ferti-lome Yield Booster or concentrated Cal-Mag to increase calcium levels) cracking (be consistent with watering).  

 

Heat, wind, uneven watering, poor soil, over fertilizing, insect damage can also cause tomato leaves to curl and twist.

The best thing to do at this point is to work in your garden every day, maintain an even watering schedule and keep using an organic fertilizer every two weeks.     

  

This is also the time to start planning for a second crop of cool weather vegetables. Beans, radishes, lettuce, kale, spinach and many more cool weather crops can be planted soon, for late season harvest. Prepare the planting site by removing any spent foliage left over from summer’s crops. Next, work two to three inches of compost and worm castings into the top six inches of the planting site.   Rake the bed and you’re ready to plant. Fall crops can be planted from seeds or plant starts or a combination of the two.   

  

If you’re not planning a fall crop, consider planting a cover crop, such as oats or winter rye. A cover crop will help improve soil structure, soil fertility and protect the living portion of your soil, including micro-organisms.  

  

Irrigate, don’t water. Conserving water is always important, so whether you water with a hose or a drip system, it’s important to water at the ground level not overhead. By positioning the drip system emitter or hose end sprayer where it’s needed, you’ll optimize plant water consumption and reduce water waste due to evaporation.   

  

Get in the habit of carrying a pair of light pruners with you as you make your rounds. As you spot a blossom beginning to fade snip it off.  In gardening terms it’s called deadheading, which simply means pruning off the old flowers. This keeps the garden neat and promotes additional blooms on perennials such as Hardy Hibiscus, and Butterfly Bushes.    

  

Do the same for your container plants, including hanging baskets. Fertilize your baskets and containers every two weeks with ferti-lome 20-20-20.    

  

Check your roses and remove any spent blossoms. Mid-August is the time to feed your roses for the season. Water each rose bush, then apply the fertilizer and water thoroughly.   

  

Keep an eye out for summer weeds. They take advantage of cultivated garden soil to grow vigorously and can produce several generations during the summer season.  It’s important to control them before they seed out.   

  

Powdery mildew may be seen on squash, pumpkins as well as peonies and other ornamentals. Organic fungicides such as Sulfur will help contain the spread. Once the season is over, it’s important to do thorough cleanup. Leaving spent vegetation in place will encourage mildew and other diseases to winter over and reinfect your garden next spring.  

Taking care of these issues as you find them is the best way of preventing bigger problems next season.       

 

Keep a detailed record of your garden by starting a gardening journal. Note specifics like planting dates, varieties chosen, weather patterns, pest or disease problems, and how much you harvest from each crop. Throughout the season, take pictures to visually track plant growth and the overall progress of your garden. 

Reviewing your notes and photos at the end of the season can make next year’s planning far more effective. For example, you’ll be able to remember which varieties gave the best yields, pinpoint spots that received ideal sunlight, and identify when pests or diseases first appeared so that you can implement preventative strategies or adjust planting times. With these insights, you can rotate crops more wisely, select plants better suited to your garden, and improve your harvest year after year. 

Now’s the time to Plant Hardy Hibiscus for Summer Color

 

If you’re dreaming of a bold, low-maintenance showstopper in your summer garden, hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus x moscheutos) delivers on every front. From mid-summer through the first frost, these statuesque perennials unfurl giant, saucer-sized blooms in hues ranging from creamy white and soft pink to vibrant red, instantly transforming borders and beds into a tropical masterpiece. Tough enough to shrug off winter’s chill yet heat-tolerant through steamy summers, hardy hibiscus return year after year with dramatic foliage and blossoms that steal the spotlight when many other plants are winding down. 

It’s important to note that hardy hibiscus differs from tropical hibiscus (rosa-sinensis) which is not hardy in our zone. Flowers and foliage are similar, but tropical hibiscus won’t survive our winters.

Tropical hibiscus such as Tradewinds™ Sunny Wind are colorful additions to the patio and deck during the summer, and they must be moved indoors when the weather turns cold.     

  

Once established, standard hardy hibiscus can easily grow to 6’ high and 6’ across so keep this in mind when you’re choosing a planting site. If you don’t have room for a full-sized plant, there are dwarf varieties that only get about 3’ tall and 3’ wide.  

  

Hardy hibiscus like their place in the sun, so select a site in the garden where they’ll get as much sun as possible. They can be grown in partial shade, such as an East-facing location, but the flower production may not be as great.   

  

Hardy hibiscus like well drained soils, so prepare the planting site by adding locally produced soil amendments, such as Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat and Compost to your existing soil at the rate of about 50:50. Add some Root Stimulator to the planting hole to ensure good root production. Planted now, you should get flowers this season.   

  

Hardy hibiscus flowers only last a day, but the flower production will go on all season, right up to the first frost. In our area, the canes will die back after the first hard frost. Once this happens, cut the canes to the ground.   

  

Around Thanksgiving, apply a two-to-three-inch layer of mulch. This will help keep the ground stable and retain moisture. Water the root ball occasionally during the winter.   

  

Hardy hibiscus plants are among the last to emerge in the spring, so give them plenty of time. Too often, people think the plant has died over the winter when in fact it's still alive, just dormant and slow to make an appearance.  

  "Berry Awesome"

"Blackberry Merlot"

"Cookies and Cream"

"Holy Grail"  

  

Planting hardy hibiscus will add unique color to your garden landscape for many seasons to come.