Brace yourself for this month’s hot, dry weather and make sure your plants are properly irrigated. Here are some August gardening tips to help keep your garden happy and healthy.
Plant Now for Summer and Winter
August is a good time to start sweet peas for winter color. Also look for South African bulbs, paperwhites and bearded iris rhizomes to start showing up in nurseries. They will bring winter and spring bloom to your yard. Other winter bloomers that do well in my yard are rosemary, Mexican bush marigold and bird of paradise.
This is also a good time to start seeds for winter crops like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, beets and carrots.
Early August is your last chance to add summer annuals to brighten up your garden now and into fall. Zinnias, rudbeckia, sunflowers, dahlias, marigolds and petunias are just some options for planting from six-packs or small pots. This is also an ideal time to plant citrus, like lemons, oranges and limes.
Irrigate
Potted plants, anything you recently planted and most succulents need to have their water needs watched during dry summer heat. Irrigate when the top four inches of soil starts to dry. Periodically give container plants and those in your yard a deep watering to leach salts away from plant roots. Be careful not to overwater established native plants. They are adapted for dry summers and will be happier with deeper watering less often. Too much moisture will cause fungal diseases.
Control Ants
Ants can be a problem during summer months. In their search for water and food, they get into your potted plants, pet food bowls and into kitchens and bathrooms. Keep surfaces clean, put away pet food and use bait stations so ants carry the poison back to their nests.
To keep ants off trees, wrap a band of heavy paper or duct tape around the tree’s trunk. Coat it with something sticky, like Tanglefoot. Make sure tree branches aren’t touching the ground or other objects that would allow ants to avoid your sticky trap. You can also wash foliage with a strong spray of water. This helps control spider mites, whiteflies, scale and other insects. You can find more information on ant control in my April 2019 post.
A lot of information for August Gardening Tips 2020 comes from the Master Gardener Association of San Diego County. They are a great resource for all of your gardening needs including planting, pests, vegetables, and water use. They even have a free hotline where you can get your home gardening and pest control problems answered.