The fragrance of lilies fill the summer garden with sweet perfume. They put on their show mid-summer. July can be both a wonderful and difficult month in the garden as heat and drought can rear its ugly head at any time. The cool weather crops of spring are fading away in favor of annual flowers and warm weather vegetables like tomatoes, beans and peppers.
Gardening with containers
Watering is almost always a must, especially for containers. Growing in pots seems like such a great idea in May when the rain is endless, in July some containers need watered every day, which can be frustrating.
To determine if a container needs to be watered, push a finger down into the soil as far as it will go. If the planting mix is dry, it’s time for water, if not, then it can wait a day or two.
Containers will also need fertilizer, as the plants will eat up the nutrients in the soil pretty quickly. An organic liquid concentrate that’s fish or kelp based will quickly rejuvenate a plant. A weekly fertilizer regime will keep the containers looking great.
Watering your garden
Whether it’s watering a pot or the garden, it’s important to soak as opposed to sprinkle. As the water goes deep into the soil, the roots will follow and can reach down for moisture when needed.
Morning is the best time to water, it gets the plants ready for the day and allows the foliage to dry out. This is especially important for things like tomatoes, phlox, lilac, vine crops and others which are susceptible to fungal diseases. Watering at the bottom of the plant also helps to keep the leaves dry.
Mulch and morning harvests
Mulch is a huge part of summer gardening as it keeps the soil evenly moist along with keeping weeds and diseases at bay. When applying mulch, it should look like a donut, not a volcano and never touch the bottom of the plant. Two or three inches is fine and when it comes to what material to use, it’s all about appearance. For me, straw is perfect for the vegetable garden and double shredded bark mulch works for the ornamental garden.
Morning is also the best time to harvest vegetable, this is when their moisture content is highest. For many plants, picking fruit also encourages more flowering and in turn another crop of fruit.
Garden bargains
This is also the month that bargains can be found.
When it comes to containers, things like hanging baskets get discounted this time of the year.
There are also many annuals and flats going on sale to fill holes in the garden and in containers.
As our season has lengthened over the years, purchasing something that will be done with a frost will still give the plant three or four months in the garden.
Lilies are getting discounted too, either in the form of bulbs or plants. When added to the garden now, they will return year after year, often multiplying and increasing in size over the years.
Perennial plants also come back each season and can be found on sale. Look for plants in four-inch pots instead of gallon containers to save money. They will catch up with the bigger plants in just one gardening season. With the extra savings, three plants can be bought to fill a garden bed.
Don’t forget the job of deadheading annual flowers. Cutting off spent blooms will encourage new flowers.
Planting in the heat of summer
When planting anything in the heat of summer, try to wait for a gray day or wait until the end of the day to put plants in the ground. Watering is even more critical to get something just planted established.
Weeds have exploded this season with an abundance of heat and rain. One way to deal with them is using a string trimmer and then mulching over them. Keeping more mulch in the garden to smother any weeds that reappear.
Most nurseries will bring in fresh basil plants now, as spring planted basil is probably going to seed which changes the flavor of the herb. Not to say it’s bad, but it’s different.
There’s still time to plant things like bush beans, Swiss chard, cucumber and other vine crop plants along with hot peppers and even some large tomato plants which will all be available locally.
Shopping at a garden center should not be like going to the grocery store.
It’s supposed to be fun. Take your time, ask questions and root around for the best deals.
There’s almost always an area in the back with TLC plants looking for a good home.
Keep planting to keep the garden looking its best and for the joy of harvesting vegetables and enjoying summer blooms.
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Host of "In Doug's Garden" on CBS KDKA-TV Streaming
Host of the Talking Trees podcast for The Davey Tree Expert Company
Consultant for Farm to Table Buy Fresh Buy Local
Columnist for Pittsburgh Earth Day's "The Green Voice"
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