The Do’s and Don’ts of August Gardening

As I’m writing this post I’m hearing the buzz of riding lawnmowers from various neighbors in our community and I thought why in the world are they mowing? It hasn’t rained and dust clouds are flying up everywhere which leads me to a second question why are they mowing the dirt? Things like this drive me nuts so I thought I’d put together a post with the do’s an dont’s of gardening in August!

DO: Get up early in the morning to water plants and do garden chores like weeding and pruning.
DON’T: Water in the afternoon where the heat of the sun mixed with the moisture will encourage fungal diseases!

DO: Water plants deeply.
DON’T: Water plants just a little everyday. That encourages a shallow root system. Unless you have plants in pots, then you may need to water every day.

DO: Wait until after a rain to mow your yard. If it’s been dry for two weeks and the grass isn’t growing there’s no need to mow.
DON’T: Don’t mow the dirt! Really what’s the point? The dirt doesn’t grow, cut around it.

DO: Mow high because it encourages a deeper root system. (I say this a lot!)
DON’T: Don’t water brown grass – if it’s a cool season grass it is most likely dormant – not dead!

DO: Start thinking about fall gardening!
DON’T: Transplant plants during the heat of August.

DO: Check out the plant stores for bargains.
DON’T: Not check out the plant stores for bargains!

DO: Keep picking produce!
DON’T: Let those tomatoes get away from you, keep them pruned as best you can.

DO: Deadhead any perennials you want to rebloom before they go to seed.
DON’T: Forget to let some plants to go seed to feed the birds.

That’s it for the DO’s and DON’Ts today. Stay cool, Wednesday is supposed to be 100 F. Fun, fun, fun… right? Nope, I didn’t think so…