It is hard to believe that it is August already and we are well into the dog days of summer. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things to do in the garden. See below for some of the tasks that can be done at this time of year.
Keep Up with the Weeds – Weeds thrive with the regular rain and long, sunny days we experience in the summer. Sometimes it seems like they thrive even better than our plants. Be sure to keep weeds under control by pulling them early. That way, they won’t steal precious water and nutrients from the plants that you really care about.
Prepare for Veggie Season – It isn’t time to plant a veggie garden yet, but before too long, it will be time to plant seeds and starts. You can’t do that if you haven’t prepared the soil in your veggie garden. So pull out all of the spent plants from last season, clear the beds of weeds and debris, and recharge the beds now with fresh soil if needed. Then when September starts to roll along, you’ll have the hard work done and be ready to get your veggie garden growing.
Feed the Butterflies – Butterflies are abundant everywhere you look at this time of the year. Make sure you have plenty of milkweed to feed monarch caterpillars as well as the pentas, salvias, and other flowers to provide food for all of the resident adult butterflies.
Water, Water, Water – Be sure that anything planted this year is getting enough water to thrive. We haven’t been getting as much rain as normal, and we’ve had quite a few days with record heat. That means that new plants need a little extra TLC and water to get through their first summer.
Prune Fruit Trees – While fruit trees don’t always need pruning, if they do, pruning after harvest is the best time, especially for trees like citrus, mangos, and avocados. So if you have a tree and you have finished picking the fruit, give it a prune if needed to allow the tree to grow in the shape that you want or to maintain a manageable size.
Prune Landscape Shrubs – It is too hot to do a severe prune on landscape shrubs, but make sure that you maintain the size and shape that you want so that your bushes don’t grow out of hand. A little pruning along the way is much better for plants than being severely cut every few years.
Plant Summer Color – Keep beds looking colorful with summer-hardy color like lantana, heather, and salvia. Just because the heat is on doesn’t mean your garden can’t be beautiful.