I don't know about you but at this time of year, I almost want the garden to DIE ALREADY!
No, did I just say that? This just happens to be a busy time at work for me and I don't have any time to be out in the garden these days, and having to water the vegetable garden daily in this heat wave is getting to be a bit of a chore. On the bright side, thanks to this heat I am getting a great crop of yummy tomatoes which is the only thing keeping me motivated right now!
But enough of my grumpiness - it only comes from not having time in the garden. There are a few things that still need to be done this month and a few more that it would be nice to get done if the weather holds out and I can make the time:
TREES & SHRUBS
- Water regularly until a hard frost. This is best done with a soaker hose laid around the drip line (directly underneath the tips of the outermost branches).
- Only prune dead wood at this point so as not to encourage the plants to expend a lot of energy producing fresh growth.
VEGETABLE GARDEN
- Water, water, water!
- Eat, eat, eat!
- I have some alpine strawberries I started from seed this year and are currently in a pot. Once there is a little more empty space in the veggie garden, I'll plant them there to overwinter. The veggie garden is a great spot for this kind of thing.
PERENNIAL GARDEN
- I leave most perennials standing for the winter except a few that look tatty (I've already cut bleeding hearts and ferns down, which were going dormant) or that don't stay upright and/or turn to mush over the winter (bearded iris, daylilies will be cut down this fall)
- Edit! Now is a great time to move perennials as they are big and it's easy to space them out well. I have a few things to move around in the Adventure Garden - within the next week but as soon as this heat wave is over!
- Re-edge the beds. This makes things look much nicer during the times when we don't have snow cover!
- Top up mulch. This is something I know I won't get to but I should. For now, I'll use leaves as they come available for a temporary winter mulch. Then, next spring once I've finished moving a few more plants around, I plan to get a big order of compost to topdress all the beds.
- I personally can't make it to the Plant Share this week-end but that is a great place to get free plants that you know will be hardy here! (Paula, I have some iris for you if you still want some... I'll email you!)
COMPOST BIN
- Empty out the finished compost and spread it around the garden. I never have enough though, which is why I'll order more in spring.
- Keep feeding the worms in the worm bin! I gotta say, they are the most productive and low maintenance pets you could possibly imagine!
If you have more time than me, there are a few other things you could do listed on the Horticultural Society's website. Have fun!
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