Things to do in August

Maintain good lawn practices:  mowing at 3 inches watering deeply (early morning is best), possible once every 5-10 days if rainfall has been insufficient, hand weeding , or consider a post-emergence product in the second half of the month if needed.  Sharpen mower blades if your mower has had more than 8 hours of use so far this season. Treat grubs if needed.

Water when the soil feels dry about 1-1/2 inch down.   Water until the soil is damp 4 inches down.  Water in the morning

Slugs are nighttime feeders.  You might try using boards as garden pathways to protect growing spaces from compaction.  Flip the boards over and drown any slugs in a bucket of soapy water.  You can also try sinking shallow dishes in the soil, dishes filled with water and yeast or beer.

Invest in a hose repair kit.

Patrol for pests.  If you don’t know what they are bring them in a Ziploc bag to our office.

Check your perennials.   Once they have finished blooming most will send up new shoots from their base.  Once you see the new shoots, cut all the older foliage and flower stems to the ground. Deadhead Shasta daisies, lupine, delphinium, dianthus, and lilies

Perennials that have showy seed pods are baptisia (false indigo), columbine, spring anemone, astilbe, Siberian Iris.  Prennials that produce seed for birds include Echinacea and Rudbeckia

Deadhead annuals

If there is not much in bloom in your garden this time of year, consider next year adding: Heliopsis, monkshood, lobelia syphilitica, lavatera, nicotiana sylvestris.

Later this month consider planting some cool season plants such as lettuce and spinach.

Harvest herbs on a dry sunny morning after the dew has dried, but before the sun is strong.

Give hanging baskets and flowering planters a good haircut to keep them lush and full.

Put down the pruners.  August through November is not a good time to prune.

Plant biennials (foxglove, sweet William, hollyhocks, Canterbury bells).  Then in mid-September move them to their final garden site and they’ll bloom next year.

If the tops of your carrots are green, pull an inch or two of soil over the base of the plants.

Handpick Japanese beetles.  They are difficult to control any other way.

Save seeds after they have developed and ripened fully on the plant.  Air dry then store.

As soon as a row is harvested, plant cover crops (oats, winter rye, or wheat).  Buckwheat dies in the winter.

If you feel you must spray, READ THE LABEL CAREFULLY BEFORE APPLYING!

The best way to keep raccoons out of your garden is with an electric fence.  Install before the corn tassels.

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