Warm days and nights are the norm for August. Tomatoes are ripening, green beans and zucchini are plentiful. The landscape is green and shady. Life in the garden is good.
TREES
• It’s easy to focus on blooming plants, annuals and vegetables during the growing season. In addition, pay attention to your trees. They had a tough year.
• Sucker growth on dead-looking fruit trees is from the grafted root stock below ground, so if the canopy hasn’t leafed out, the variety won’t be the same.
• This is a good time to research replacement trees for planting now through early fall. Think about the characteristics you’d like in a tree (bloom, fruit, fall color, nice bark). Also consider the mature size of the tree, and best location in the landscape. Soil preparation and proper planting, care and pruning through the years are a must. This is your opportunity to get it right.
• Spring-blooming trees are desirable, but they aren’t reliable each and every year. When it’s a good year for fruit trees, Look for fire blight-resistant varieties. Consider dwarf varieties or espalier trees for smaller landscapes.
• Conifers and evergreen plants will have a better chance for establishing when planted in spring.
• Check with your local municipality for recommended trees. Walk through parks, arboretums and nurseries to get ideas and view different trees. You can see and get more information on them at www.cmg.colostate.edu/pubs/Trees.html#Selection
• Try not to plant the same tree species that everyone else is growing in your neighborhood. Diversity among trees reduces possible disease and insect problems. ; they prefer mountain areas. Aspen are often short-lived in home landscapes (20 years or less) and frequently suffer from disease and insect attacks. See a list of aspen substitutes at www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/Trees/aspens2.htm
• Prune off undesirable suckers around the base of trees. They take energy from the rest of the tree — and they just don’t look good. Use pruners or scissors and cut them close to the trunk. You can use a spray-on product called Sucker Stop, but carefully read the package instructions. And never use weed-killing chemicals on sucker growth.
• You can remove damaged or broken limbs on trees any time of the year, but the best time to do a major prune is when trees are dormant during the winter.
• Actively growing trees need water to a depth of 12 to 18 inches at least three times a month from April through September. Use a soil probe or long screwdriver to check moisture levels. Make sure that trees watered in lawn areas (with sprinkler systems) are getting enough water. Trees growing in fast-draining sandy soils may need more frequent watering.
LAWNS
• Suckers from trees and shrubs often grow in lawn areas. They can be mowed, hand dug or sprayed with Sucker Stop as detailed above.
• Sharpen the blades of gas or electric lawn mowers now to carry you through fall. Rotary push mowers should be sharpened every fourth mow.
• If dry areas are showing up in the lawn, check your system and spray coverage. Sprinkler heads may be clogged or broken. Make repairs and hand water dry spots as needed.
• There’s no set universal schedule for lawn watering. Temperatures, wind, sun and soil conditions all affect turf’s need for watering. Lawns in the heat of summer generally need more water than during the spring and fall — up to 2 inches a week.
• Whether you’re using an irrigation system or watering with a hose, base your schedule on the needs of the turf. Water deeply — to a depth of 4 inches — and less frequently. And run your system twice, with shorter run times, to allow the water to soak into the soil.
• Water lawns between 10 p.m. and 9 a.m. when it is cooler, less windy and more humid.
IN THE LANDSCAPE
• Watch for plants drying out. Drip irrigation is generally worry-free unless the drip line becomes clogged, broken or there’s a split in the irrigation hose. It’s tedious work, but occasionally check each plant after watering to see that plants are well watered. Make repairs as needed.
• Every three to five years, use a spading fork to With a knife, trim the younger, healthy rhizomes from the older, center sections and toss the older plant material. Trim leaf blades to resemble a fan, then position the leaf fans to face different directions 15 to 18 inches apart. Plant the rhizomes an inch deep — remember, they’re a rhizome, not a bulb — with roots spread out evenly. Cover with soil and water. No mulch is needed until the new irises are well established. See a video tutorial at youtube.com/watch?v=pUxyjh6A808
• Regularly fertilize all container-grown plants, roses and annuals.
• Don’t forget to take photos of your garden this month! You’ll enjoy looking at them over the winter — or when next year’s spring weather is proving a challenge. (And doesn’t it always?)
• Keep shopping and planting. Many garden centers have great deals and If the top growth on the plant you want looks overgrown, check the root system. That’s often healthy and ready to go in the ground. Be sure to gently tease open compacted roots before planting.
VEGETABLES AND HERBS
• August is a good month to start planting shorter-maturing leafy crops like lettuce, kale, Asian greens, spinach plus the regulars – radish, turnips, Swiss chard and beets.
• Work in one more sowing of basil seeds in some open soil or containers. Grow enough to harvest in September and process to freeze for winter use.
• Peppers can be harvested as small as 3-4 inches in length. Red peppers need more time on the vine, but its OK to harvest them while green. Wear gloves when picking hot peppers.
• Bigger eggplants aren’t better, so harvest when they are large enough to use and before their skin loses its gloss. When cutting from the plant, leave a 1-inch piece of stem attached to the fruit.
• Harvest cucumbers small — when slicers are 6 inches and picklers are 4 inches. If left too long on the vine, the cucumbers turn yellow, the seeds mature inside and that makes the plant stop producing flowers and fruit. If you miss one and it’s too large, just pick it off and compost it — or gift it to a friend with urban chickens.
• Protect winter squash and pumpkins from moist soil and rot by placing each squash on a small piece of cardboard, a shingle or a rinsed Styrofoam meat tray from the grocery store.
• Renew mulch around vegetables to maintain soil temperatures and keep down weeds. Harvest daily as needed.
• Be sure to share extra harvest goodies with friends, neighbors, shelters and food pantries.
Betty Cahill: gardenpunchlist@blogspot.com or bettycahill@ymail.com
