July Task List for Dependable Gardens Summer is definitely here and proper watering is essential for the health of all your plants during the hot weather. Watering less frequently but for a longer period of time in the early morning decreases loss from evaporation and promotes deeper rooting of your turf grass, shrubs, and trees. Flowering hanging baskets will need daily watering to keep them beautiful while vegetable gardens and berry patches will require daily monitoring of their watering needs. Use a 2” think layer of organic mulch wherever possible to conserve soil moisture and to minimize extremes in soil temperature. Keep your annual flowers blooming throughout the summer by using Fertilome's Blooming & Rooting or Howard Johnson’s Fabulous Flowers plant food. For Vegetables use Howard Johnson’s Terrific Tomato or Vibrant Veggies fertilizers. Start preparing for midsummer planting of bush beans, broccoli, carrots, parsnips, lettuce, kale, and peas for fall and early winter crops. If you didn’t finish the job in late June, now is the time to thin the fruit on your apple, apricot, peach, nectarine, and plum trees to encourage larger, healthier fruit. Hang pheromone or yellow sticky traps in your fruit trees to monitor and partially control the presence of insect pests. If they haven’t already overwhelmed you, stake your tomatoes and prune off lower leaves for better air circulation and production. As it gets hot and dry, check your conifers, especially junipers and dwarf Alberta spruce, for spider mites. Watch for dusty-looking foliage, loss of color, and fine ‘spider’ webbing (not always present.) Spray suspected foliage with water as a first defense, then apply the appropriate insecticide. Some maple trees may appear to have ‘popcorn’ on their branches. Don’t taste it — It is cottony maple scale with the white ‘popcorn’ being the egg sack. If the tree is small enough, spray with an insecticide or for better long-term results, apply Bayer Tree and Shrub systemic insecticide. Compost yard waste (excluding weeds with seed heads) by chopping into small pieces and placing in a warm sunny area. Keep your pile moist and turn frequently to encourage more rapid decomposition.

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