JULY Gardening To-Do List
Zone 3
- Now’s the time to start seeds of cool-season vegetables for fall growing
- Rogue out (remove) virus-infected plants from the garden and control leaf-hopping insects to prevent virus spread
- By pruning off faded blooms from annuals, you can prevent seed formation and coax additional flowers
- Mulch flowerbeds with dried grass clipping or compost to maintain moisture and reduce weeds
- Save maintenance and water by allowing perennial rye and Kentucky blue grass lawns to go dormant during the summer
- Raspberries are ripe when they pull readily from the central core
- Prune water sprouts (upright, vigorous shoots) from apple trees
- Avoid deep cultivation around shallow rooted trees and shrubs such as evergreens
- Add a water-soluble fertilizer to hanging baskets and patio pots every 2 weeks to keep plants blooming their best
- Cut flowers for drying at their prime or when just opening
Zone 4
- Add one last planting of gladioli bulbs for flowers into fall
- Harvest veggies as soon as they’re ripe to encourage further production
- Avoid the sight of a weed-infested garden: weed first before you leave on vacation
- Harvest sweet corn when silks are brown and punctured kernels produce a milky juice
- Prevent blossom-end rot on tomatoes by providing plants with at least an inch of water each week
- Let melons ripen on the vine — this is where they will develop their best flavor
- Start fall garden transplants from seed
- Petunias, coleus and other summer annuals might be leggy by now
- Pinch them back just above a leaf to encourage bushy growth and more flowers
- Leave faded flowers on those plants that form ornamental seed heads, pods, or berries
- Provide water in a shallow pan or birdbath for your feathered and fluttering friends
Zone 5
- Remove annuals with stunted or unusual color; these are usually virus infected and the disease can spread to neighboring healthy plants
- To control disease on fruit trees, maintain a summer spray schedule
- Clean hummingbird feeders filled with nectar solution regularly to ward off mold and bacteria
- Consider drip irrigation and/or soaker hoses for watering in the flowerbed and vegetable garden
- Bats help control mosquitoes; attract these friendly mammals with bat houses
- Muskmelons and cantaloupes are ready for picking when the stem “slips” easily from the fruit with gentle pressure
- Harvest veggies as soon as they’re ripe to encourage additional production
- Sharp mower blades prevent leaf blade damage and lawn stress
- Prevent diseases on susceptible rose varieties: apply fungicide every 7-10 days
- Lanky annuals need your help! Pinch them back now to encourage bushy growth and more flowers
