JULY RAISES THE QUESTION: How am I going to get things (including myself) through the usually hotter, often drier weeks of high summer that lie ahead, Japanese beetles, slugs, powdery mildew and all? Time to take stock, and take control—as much as one ever can with taming the wilderness that is the garden! Here’s what we can do:
Some “fixes” are obvious: I’ll raise the deck on the mower to a longer cut, assuming the weather heats up and rain tapers. I’ll soak beds deeply (unless ample rain does first!), then clean up their edges and top up mulch. In many spots I’m being downright brutal with more “edits” and cutbacks. (I know, I gave a lot of haircuts in June to things like perennial geraniums and euphorbias, but the barbershop is still open here apparently, with bleeding hearts, groundcover sedums that flowered recently, Phalaris or ribbon grass and more getting hacked to the ground. Celandine poppy, or Stylophorum diphyllum, too.)
July is also a big month for the vegetable garden, and not just of harvesting: I’m sowing fresh crops to enjoy this fall (like more peas); more on doing a tuneup in the edible garden below.
Frankly, July always starts out as Throw In the Trowel Month here, and I often do feel overwhelmed. But then summer shapes up and the heat-loving plants—tall perennials, ornamental grasses, vegetables we’ve waited all year to taste again–have their day.
weeding and watering
WEED! Make a pass through each bed each week, since weeds are not just unsightly but steal moisture, nutrients and light from desired plants. Again: Top up mulch to help in the plight.
OBSERVE WHILE WEEDING: Try to remember what’s done well (or not) so far in each bed. Make notes, to plan for fall reworking of problem spots, or a bed redesign. Are some spots that seem to invite weeds to sow with abandon—like the driveway, or other gravel surfaces, or cracks between pavers—requiring hours of finger-numbing work (or, more likely, just being left unweeded)? Again, decision time. To solarize (lay down plastic sheeting, and use summer heat and sun to cook the weeds to death over a few weeks)? Or to spray? I say no to chemical herbicides, so there are sheets of plastic here and there, and the scuffle hoe is getting a workout, too.
GARDENS NEED AN INCH OF WATER a week from you or the heavens. Check your rain gauge. Soak beds deeply in the root zone, but don’t spritz things with a sprayer now and again like you’re washing the car. That’s a garden no-no. Containers, especially smallish ones in sun, need daily attention, and they also need periodic feeding. Be alert!
pests
IF YOU ARE IN JAPANESE BEETLE territory, handpick each morning and again later in the day. Drown in a can of soapy water. Remember, we can’t eliminate them; we have to manage them. Consider a biological (non-toxic) control to further help reduce overwintering grub population with nematodes or perhaps Milky Spore inoculation, or one of the other biologicals covered in this government bulletin for homeowners (pdf).
WITH OTHER OBVIOUS pests like tomato hornworms, squash bugs, Colorado potato beetles or imported cabbage worms, I do the same: handpick early each morning, and destroy. And then I do a very serious fall cleanup, removing all debris to a distance (I compost it at my office, where there is no vegetable garden).
OR MAYBE SLUGS AND SNAILS are proliferating? Some tactics on dealing with them.
trees & shrubs
STOP FEEDING woody plants if you are, as I am, in a zone that has a cold winter. Promoting more soft growth in high summer and beyond isn’t good; time for them to start moving toward the hardening-off phase of their cycle. No more eats till late winter or earliest spring.
TREES ARE vulnerable to drought, if you’re having a dry year, particularly the oldest and the youngest (those planted in the last few years). Water deeply, as with a Tree-Gator. Ugly…but better than not watering.
ALWAYS BE on the lookout for dead, damaged, diseased wood in trees and shrubs and prune it out as discovered. Ditto with suckers and water sprouts.
SPRING-FLOWERING shrubs like lilacs reach the end of their pruning window after July 4th here, otherwise risking damage to emerging buds for next year’s blooms.
THROUGH MONTH’S END, softwood cuttings of buddleia, weigela, rose-of-sharon and roses, among other shrubs, can be taken to propagate more plants inexpensively.
vegetable, fruit and herbs
SEND IN SOIL SAMPLES for testing if you’re seeing poor results in some beds. Contact your local cooperative extension for details on how to sample and where to send it.
CONTINUE SOWING carrots, beets, radishes, lettuce, dill. I re-sow some broccoli cousins such as spigarello, and kales, plus fall peas. With salad greens, select heat-resistant varieties, and sow small amounts every 10 days. I do it under a couple of hoops with a bit of Reemay clothes-pinned onto them to cast some shade. Direct-sow a short row of bush beans every two weeks through month’s end, and another mound of bush cukes and zucchini right this very minute (your timing may vary; I am Zone 5B). About planning the fall vegetable garden.
STRAWBERRY BEDS may appreciate rejuvenation now.
KEEP ASPARAGUS well weeded and water it, too. Let asparagus ferns grow till hard frost to feed the underlying crowns.
GARLIC may start to fade and topple, as harvest time nears. When several lower leaves yellow, but about five topmost ones are still green—some experts say four or five, some say five or six–carefully lift a head or two to judge readiness. If good, lift all to cure during a warm, dry spell in an airy, sheltered place. How to judge the right harvest moment. Or read all about growing garlic, and even storing your harvest–and don’t forget, order bulbs now for October-ish planting. (I love ‘German Extra Hardy,’ also called ‘German Stiffneck.’)
FOR PEAK FLAVOR, basil, sage, marjoram and oregano, mint, tarragon are best harvested just before bloom. Start more basil from seed for combining with those September tomatoes, and dill for late pickles. Harvest lavender, rosemary and chamomile as they flower, blossoms and all.
flower garden
POTS IN PARTICULAR need regular, thorough watering (sometimes more than once a day if they’re small and in full sun!) throughout the heat of high summer. Vigilance!
PRUNE RAMBLER ROSES and once-blooming climbers now, after their flowering period.
MANY PERENNIALS and biennials can be started now from seed, then set out in the fall into nursery beds.
I MOW THE foliage of my ripened daffodil drifts around July 4th. Deadhead faded perennials unless they have showy seedheads (same with bulbs), or you want to collect seed later (non-hybrids only).
ARE ANNUAL VINES getting the continuing support they need, whether twine, wire, lattice? Perennial types like Clematis may need a bit of help, too.
ORDER BULBS to get varieties you want (see Resources for catalog suggestions). Remember our “early, middle, late” mantra when doing so.
PREPARE NEW beds for fall planting by smothering grass or weeds with layers of recycled corrugated cardboard or thick layers of newspaper, then put mulch on top.
EDGE BEDS to make a clean line and define them, and keep edges clean with regular fine-tuning with grass shears. A clean edge makes a big difference.
lawn
Don’t bag or rake clippings; let them lie on the lawn to return Nitrogen to the soil.
compost heap
Don’t let the heap dry out completely, or it will not “cook.” Turning it to aerate will also hasten decomposition, but things will rot eventually even if not turned.
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On using this list in your garden: The monthly A Way to Garden chores and based on my Zone 5B Berkshire MA/Hudson Valley NY location; adjust accordingly.
Read july garden chores: 2013 on A Way to Garden!