July to-do list

• Pull weeds.  A few minutes a couple times a week is best so you never get overwhelmed.  If you don’t have much time, at least pull off the tops of ones that are flowering or have gone to seed.
• Deadhead perennials that have finished flowering (such as iris and peony) to tidy them up.  Deadhead annuals to promote more blooms.
• Prune lilacs after flowering is finished - pruning later will remove next year's flower buds.
• Thin crowded vegetable seedlings.  Root crops such as carrots and beets especially do not like to be overcrowded.
• Continue breaking off the secondary branches from indeterminate (vine) tomatoes.
• Stake tall plants such as delphiniums and monkshood, if you haven’t already.
• Water the lawn about 1” per week (water deeply i.e. once or twice a week instead of every day).  Mow to a 3” height to help keep the roots shaded, and leave grass cuttings on the lawn.
• If planting anything this late, be sure to give lots of water.
• Water trees with a soaker hose after 2 weeks of hot dry weather.