July Gardening To~Do List

In the Edible Garden

- Stake and support your fruit trees, tomatoes and beans.

- Remove suckers from fruit trees as soon as you notice them. You may be able to pull small suckers or snip them off with pruners or garden shears.

- Start another crop of cilantro and lettuce if yours have bolted.

- Continue to feed your vegetable garden. We recommend slow-release organic fertilizer. Especially heavy feeders like tomatoes, beets, and greens may need another round of fertilizing in July.

- Enjoy salads all summer and into fall by planting leafy greens such as lettuce, arugula, Swiss chard, radicchio, and bok choy in July and August. Many of these prefer a bit of shade in the hot summer months. Also sow seeds for fall such as parsley, lettuce, radishes, carrots, beets, and peas (yes, you can grow a fall crop of peas in the PNW!) 

- Start seeds indoors for fall and winter crops if you don't have space for direct sowing.

In the Ornamental Garden

- Cut back foxgloves after they bloom. If you want more native foxgloves, take the spent stem and lie it on the ground where you see a bare patch of soil. Watch for new seedlings.

- Divide bearded irises, cut back spring-flowering bulb foliage. 

- Fertilize your roses and other flowering shrubs and perennials.

- Deadhead your annuals and perennials to keep your plants producing new flowers.

- Fertilize your hanging baskets and flowering containers.

- Mulch around your plants to avoid water loss during the heat of summer and provide a layer of insulation during the cold winter.

- Aphids and other damaging insects have returned. Neem Oil Spray is safe and effective at keeping their population from growing and damaging your garden.

- Watch for spider mites when summer days are dry and dusty. Often, daily bursts of water from a garden hose are enough to keep them in check. If that doesn’t work, try insecticidal soap spray, which also kills aphids and other sap-sucking pests.

- Continue pulling and hoeing weeds, as they will steal water, light, and nutrients from other plants. Pulling weeds is an arduous task, but watering first will make it easier. If you don’t have time to pull larger weeds, at least chop off their heads to keep them from going to seed.

Other Tasks:  Order bulbs for fall planting,

Watering 

- Water deeply and less frequently to encourage strong root growth.

- Water early morning or late evening to minimize evaporation.

- Check container gardens frequently, as they dry out faster.

- Consider installing an irrigation system for efficiency.

- Water newly planted/transplanted plants until roots are well-established; water deeply before predicted heat waves.

Lawn Care

- In summer, lawns need approximately 1 inch of irrigation per week to stay green and healthy.

- If you plan to let your lawn go dormant this summer, a deep watering about once a month will keep it from dying back completely.

- When mowing, remember that the height of the grass generally equals the depth of the roots, so keeping grass a little longer helps build a strong support system. Set your mower to medium height to avoid cutting off more than 30% at a time.