August Garden Tips           

By the Tarrant County Master Gardener Association, Texas Cooperative Extension Office. 

Phone 817-884-1944 for answers to any gardening question.

 

The best gardening activity for the heat of August is a cool lemonade and shaded lounge to enjoy the view. Unfortunately, those plants have to stay outdoors, so make sure they have been well mulched and get adequate water.  If you have to be out, be sure to wear a wide-brimmed hat, use sunscreen and drink plenty of water. It’s best to work in the very early morning while it is still cool.

 

Waterlogged Plants

The drought is definitely over for this year.  How can your plants be wilting in the heat after all that rain!  They are drowning and need air. With all the recent rains, the air has been pushed from the soil and they can’t breathe.

 

With all the recent rains, plant roots have grown shallow and soft.  When the heat of August finally hits, they will be very stressed. Take extra care to make sure these plants are well mulched and watered until cool fall arrives. Be prepared -- you may lose plants.  More plants die from too much water than from too little.

 

What can you do: 

Some native plants are adapted to flood conditions.  Bald Cypress, yaupons, willows, seep muhly are used to alternating standing water and drought conditions, so have developed ways to live through it.

Raised beds provide quick drainage for plants that can’t stand wet feet.  Without drainage, onions rot, tomatoes wilt, even Texas Sage dies.  Plant these types in raised beds.

Some Texas Natives require dry soils.  Blackfoot daisy, Four-nerve daisy, just cannot take wet feet.  The constant rains are drowning these drought-tough natives.

 

This was a perfect year to study the way water drains off your property.  Take notes.  Do you need some grading or ditches to direct the water to proper areas?  Were your gutters doing their job?  Do you have low areas or heavy clay that needs to be amended?  Plan now for those fall chores.

 

Things to do in August.

August is typically one of the driest months of the year here. Light sprinkles aren't enough to supply the needs of your lawn and garden. Use rain gauge to actually measure how much rain you are receiving. Lawns and shrubs need about an inch of water per week in the summer time. Water in early morning; whenever possible use soaker hoses or drip irrigation to cut down on evaporation.

Many plants will signal their need for water: turf grass lies flat after being walked on, and many plants loose their shine and droop a little. Large-leafed plants wilt in the heat, but perk back up at night. Most trees do not readily show drought stress, yet need the same care. 

 

MULCH-MULCH-MULCH - If you didn’t get a thick blanket of mulch down earlier, do it now. Mulch is the best way to help your plants survive the heat.  It keeps the broiling sun off the root zone, cools the soil, reduces weeds and retains essential moisture. Mulch all bare soil. Unmulched soils can reach more than 100 degrees, hot enough to kill roots. Mulched soils can be up to 10 degrees cooler. Besides cooling soil temperature, mulches conserve water by reducing water loss up to 65 percent.

 

Lawn Care: Set mower higher to promote dense turf. The height of the grass should shade its root-zone.  Mow every 5-7 days, and leave the clippings on the lawn. Water lawn deeply once or twice a week.  It makes the roots reach deeper and makes a stronger, more drought-resistant lawn. Be sure your sprinkler is doing a proper job. Low water pressure may result erratic coverage or "hot spots" in the yard that need supplemental water. Check with a shovel and your fingers to determine soil moisture levels. Check for take-all patch, grub worms, Chinch bugs.  Finish planting lawns this month to give the new grass opportunity to become established before cold weather stops growth. Wait to fertilize established lawns until September.

Flowers:

Sow these annual seeds for late summer and fall flowering: marigold, zinnia, periwinkle, petunia, cosmos, portulaca, ageratum. Transplants will provide faster color. They will require extra attention for the first few weeks, but should provide you with color during late September, October, and November. Sow seeds of snapdragons, dianthus, pansies, calendulas, and other cool-season flowers in flats, or in well-prepared areas of the garden, for planting outside during mid-to-late fall.

 

Divide spring and early summer perennials - including daffodils, daylilies, iris, etc., and replant the best clumps. Discard the diseased or damaged material and share any surplus with friends.

 

The care you give your rose garden in July and August determines the display of roses you will have in September and October. Adequate watering, nitrogen fertilizer, and late-summer pruning helps. Prune out dead canes and any weak, brushy growth. Cut back tall, vigorous bushes to about 30 inches. After pruning, apply fertilizer and any disease-control measures, and water thoroughly. Your rose bushes should be ready to provide an excellent display of flowers this October.

 

Plant bluebonnet and other spring wildflowers in Late August to September. They must germinate in late summer or early fall, develop good root systems, and be ready to grow in spring when the weather warms. Plant seed in well-prepared soil, one-half inch deep, and water thoroughly.

 

Picking flowers frequently encourages most annuals and perennials to flower even more abundantly.

 

Vegetables:

In late August plant broccoli plants, Brussel sprouts, cabbage plants, Chinese cabbage, carrots, cauliflower plants, Swiss chard, collards, kale, English peas, Irish potatoes, and summer squash.

Set out tomato transplants for a fall harvest. Look for an early maturing variety (65 to 75 days). Remember that our average first freeze is mid-November and that tomato maturity slows down as the days get cool and cloudy.

 

Peppers and tomatoes planted earlier this year will not set fruit during the heat of summer, even though they may still be flowering. If the plants remain healthy, they will set fruit again once temperatures stay below 90 degrees. Sidedress established, healthy plants with fertilizer and keep watered to encourage new growth.

 

An eggplant is ready to harvest when the fruit is fully colored and has achieved the mature size for the variety. Seed should be white, and the tissue firm. If the seeds are brown and hard, or the skin has become dull rather than shiny, the fruit is past eating quality, so harvest the next fruit sooner.

Remove old plants that have stopped producing to eliminate shelters for insects and disease organisms.

 

 

PESTS

Diseases: Check crape myrtles and roses for powdery mildew. Remove any diseased leaves from plants and around the base.  Discard the diseased material; do not add to compost.

 

Insects: Watch for: Spider mites, leaf rollers, and lacebugs on azaleas, junipers, roses and marigolds; chinch bugs, fleas, ticks, chiggers and grubs in lawns; scale insects on euonymus, hollies, camellias; webworms in pecans and persimmons; aphids on crape myrtle, roses and Mexican milkweed, scale on peaches and plums. Don't forget the regular spray program on roses to prevent blackspot.

 

Use pesticides with caution and only as needed. Follow all label directions and never increase the rate. Do not rinse sprayers or dispose of excess spray in the drain, storm sewer or other place where runoff can contaminate our water system.

 

ODDS AND ENDS

Order your spring-flowering bulbs now. A good guideline to use is 'biggest is best' in bulb size. Be careful about so- called "bargain" bulbs as they may be small or of inferior quality.

 

Potted plants outdoors need watering daily to prevent wilting. Such frequent watering will leach out nutrients, so be sure to regularly fertilize potted plants with a water-soluble fertilizer.

Soak hanging baskets every few days in a tub of water with dilute fertilizer added to get them well watered.  Baskets dry out quickly in our heat, so check daily or even more often.  Do not let the soil dry out completely.

 

Get rid of any standing water so mosquitoes can’t breed.  We are having a very heavy mosquito year because of the spring rains.  Empty and re-fill birdbaths, etc. weekly.

 

Add compost to spring gardens. Turn compost pile and add new ingredients (weeds, table scrapes, clippings). Water well to feed the microorganisms that break down the compost.  It should be as damp as a wrung-out sponge.