July 2023 Tips

Dear Gardening Friends,    This has to have been one of the weirdest spring/early summers as long as I can remember. We’ve had all sorts of weather; cold, hot, dry, wet but lately mostly dry. Three major issues for July will be watering, plant disease and insect damage. Whatever insect or disease you have, find out what it is BEFORE any treatment.  Watering has to be a priority and the way you water is important. --Most pots in the sun will need watering every day. If it is a very full pot possibly 2/day. Ones in the shade probably less. Watering until the water runs out the bottom of the pot ensures the whole pot is moistened. The way to tell if a pot needs watering is to poke your finger into the soil down a few inches. If the soil is moist you don’t have to water. Overwatering in pots can be as harmful as underwatering. - For vegetables, annuals, and perennials, watering long once or twice a week is better than daily short watering. The water needs to soak into the soil down where the roots are. To check take a trowel or shovel and make a divot. If it’s moist in the root zone (5-6 inches) you don’t need to water. The standard is an inch a week but in this heat that may not be enough, especially in a sunny area. There are water meter probes available at Garden Centers that will show you how much moisture is in the soil. They can be very helpful. -Don’t worry if your grass starts to turn brown. Grass naturally goes dormant in dry periods, and it doesn’t harm the grass. It will green up with the next rain. -The amount of watering will depend on the amount of sun and wind the area gets and how porous the soil is. In my garden some places in this extreme heat need watering every 4 days others in the shade maybe once a week or less. -For those recently planted perennials and annuals, they will need water more often than established plants as their roots aren’t well established. - Keep your eye out for Japanese beetles. If you get the first ones, you will decrease the total amount that find you. Check the plants you know they prefer. Get out a container with a few inches of soapy water and knock the little buggers in. Gives me great satisfaction. For more info: https://blogs.cornell.edu/willow/files/2014/10/Japanese-Beetle-Popillia-japonica-fact- sheet-16vi6b4.pdf - An insect that is in abundance this season is 4 lined plant bug. It’s a small yellow/green and black striped true bug that has a piercing mouth part that leaves small round dark circles in the leaves. Fortunately, this doesn’t kill the plants, but it is unsightly. They lay their eggs in the stems of the effected plants so at the end of the season cutting down those stems helps reduce the infestation next year. For more info: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/four-lined-plant-bug/ - If any of you are having problems with the lily leaf beetle (a small red beetle on true lilies) try a squirt of Dawn dish liquid in a spray bottle of water. A few people have said that helps. I’ve seen them on tricyrtis (toad lily) this year so check out those as well. For more information check: http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2001/07/cornell-cooperative-extension-master- gardeners-spot-invasive-unpleasant-beetles-new A squirt of Dawn & water works well for aphids as well. - I’ve also seen signs of powdery mildew. This is a whiteish coating on the leaves. For plants like phlox that are susceptible to fungal disease you can start treatment before it shows symptoms. Treat with an environmentally safe fungicide specific to your problem. Remove affected leaves and disinfect your pruner and hands before moving to another plant. For more info: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/powdery-mildew/ - If you fertilize your plants, it’s best to do it when the soil is moist. Natural fertilizers are much better for plants and soil than chemical ones. Chemical fertilizers contain salts which kill the natural microbes in the soil which are what feed the plants. Chemical fertilizer is OK for pots as that soil is discarded each year. - Because of the intense heat it’s best to wait till fall to do any transplanting. It’s very stressful for the plants. If you have to move something now, give the plant some shelter from the sun with a box or umbrella for a few days and keep it well watered. - Then there’s weeding… Just when you think you’re finished more pop up. Try and keep up or at least remove or deadhead weeds before they drop seed. If you haven’t mulched this will help control the weeds. Gardening events in July: Garden Walk Buffalo, Open Gardens and the weekend community garden walks are up and running. Open Gardens are every Thursday and Friday in July. Come visit me on Fridays between 10 – 2. For information and schedules go to https://www.gardensbuffaloniagara.com/ or buffaloniagaragardening,com. The Open Garden books, which include all activities, are also available at select nurseries and some of the Open Gardens. The East Aurora Garden Walk will be July 15 & 16, 10:00 – 3:00. Lessons from Nature events: I will start hypertufa and concrete birdbath and steppingstone classes in a few weeks. (providing it’s not hot and humid). Each class is $30 and you get to make 2. Contact me and we can set up a class of up to 4 people. Contact me for a garden consultation. I can help improve your garden and gardening practices as well as save you time and money! It’s not too late for improvements. Happy Gardening! Lyn Chimera Lessons from Nature 170 Pine St. E. Aurora, NY 14052 [email protected] 652-2432 Copyright © 2014 Lessons From Nature, All rights reserved. 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