Gardener's Almanac

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

— Lori Hardee and Karen Park Jennings, Park Seed Co., Greenwood, S.C.

Gulf Coast

The warm Southern climate burns up organic matter like charcoal at a Fourth of July barbecue. Unfortunately, finding good compost isn’t always easy. Wood chips from the local municipality are OK for mulch, but don’t mix them into the soil. As they decompose, most of the available soil nitrogen will be tied up, which can starve your garden plants. Check out local horse stables, or see if there is a mushroom grower close by — spent mushroom compost is a great soil amendment. Once the garden beds are fertile, it’s time to start planting. Sow snow peas in early August for production when the temperature cools off in the fall. You need to plant bush beans by late August or early September. Seed broccoli and cauliflower now for October transplants and, of course, it is time to get out the seed catalogs and order lettuce, radishes, carrots and other cool-season vegetables.

— Bill Adams, Burton, Texas

Central/Midwest

As you harvest lettuce, peas and other early summer vegetables, work amendments into the soil and replant. Choose varieties (including some flowers for bouquets) that will mature in early fall. Occasionally — like last year — good gardening conditions continue until November, so don’t be too quick to put your garden to rest. Patch up your lawn with new seed as the nights become cooler and dew adds moisture to the soil. But plan on watering all new plantings daily if it doesn’t rain. Often, the seed will swell with its first exposure to moisture and then dry out and die when the moisture level is not maintained. Be aware that cooler nights and dewy mornings create ideal conditions for fungal diseases. To avoid spreading them, try to stay out of the garden until the moisture has burned off in the morning sun, and be on the watch for disease and insect infestations before they become severe.

— Connie Dam-Byl, William Dam Seeds Ltd., Dundas, Ontario

North Central & Rockies

August can mean hot or cold to gardens in the Mountain West and Northern Plains. The hottest, driest days of the year call for extra mulch in between plants. A shade cloth cover will help preserve the tender quality of salad greens. Plant frost-hardy greens now for continued salad harvest into the fall. Where snow offers reliable protection, spinach and kale often will overwinter to provide the first spring crops. Miner’s lettuce is another hardy green that thrives under cold frames or other protected spots for a succulent early spring salad. Plant lettuce in September, but the seeds may need to be pre-soaked and chilled in the refrigerator for several days to get them to germinate in hot weather. Be on guard for sudden temperature swings as September approaches. Think through your plan for covering, protecting or harvesting frost-sensitive crops and have frost cloth, plastic or even blankets handy.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print