We have included some monthly to-dos and helpful tips to help members keep up with their gardens. Enjoy!
Please feel free to contact Kian S if you would like to contribute gardening tips and suggestions.
Summer doesn't really begin here in the Pacific Northwest until after the 4th, so they say, so now that we are edging into July, here is hoping for more sunny and warm days to encourage the garden along.
The rain and mostly cool spring and early summer weather have meant a late start for many flowering perennials, especially heat-loving plants such as lavender, zinnias and dahlias. This has been a bad year for zinnias in my garden, as we have had a plague of slugs and snails decimating less vigilantly "Sluggoed" plants. Even daily slug and snail patrol have not made much of a dent in the gastropod population. Alas, hostas and hydrangeas have also fallen prey to their voracious appetites.
This is the month when herbaceous perennials such as hardy geraniums, salvias, yarrow and nepeta are at their best. As blooms fade they can be cut down to encourage a second bloom. Lavender can be given a light trim as the flowers go over later in the month, to keep them compact and reduce woodiness. Deadhead dahlias, cosmos and zinnias to keep them blooming all summer. If sunny and warm weather becomes the norm rather than the exception, deep water once or twice a week to keep the garden looking good.
Peas, lettuces, beets and carrots should be ready to pick. If you have planted potatoes in the spring, once you see potato plants flowering, you can probably scrabble around the soil to harvest some early new potatoes for a meal. Garlic should be ready to harvest when you see the lower leaves turning yellow. Do not wait until all the leaves have turned yellow, or the bulbs may be too mature and have split at the top, reducing storage ability. If you grow hardneck garlic, a good sign of readiness is when you see garlic scapes unfurling. They are delicious! Depending on when you start the onions, they will be ready when the leaves start to turn yellow and fall over. Depending on the variety, this may be at the end of July or early August.
Early July is a good time to sow hardy overwintering crops such as brassicas and root crops such as carrots, daikon, turnips, and beets. A second crop of peas can also be sown. Mid to late July is more suited for quicker-growing crops such as Asian greens, spinach and lettuce that can be harvested before frost. If spinach leaves are harvested as cut and come again, the plants will often overwinter, providing fresh greens in early spring. With the protection of a cold frame, greenhouse, or a cloche, it is possible to harvest greens over the winter, provided the plants are mature going into winter, so variety is important, and timing as well.
For a detailed planting calendar, please refer to
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