Summer is starting to wind down in August. However, there is still an abundance of garden chores to complete before fall. In this blog post, we will explore the important August garden chores that you should not overlook.
Preparing for Autumn
August is the perfect month to start preparing for the fall. You should:
- Tidy up the garden so that the fall clean-up is quicker and easier.
- Take the time to check your garden for worms and borers in plants such as broccoli, cabbages, and cauliflower.
- Treat for grumps in your lawn to prevent future problems.
- Prune away diseased, dying, and dead stems on perennials, trees, and shrubs - especially on azaleas and rhododendrons
- Remove any dead or yellow leaves
- Check your conifers for signs of mites.
- Remove deceased or yellow hostas. Most hostas start to turn yellow in August so it’s a good time to remove them from the soil.
- Stop fertilizing and pruning shrubs and trees.
- Continue to fertilize annuals, perennials, and vegetables
August Lawn Care
Depending on where you live, your lawn might be showing signs of browning in high heat locations. However, August is the time to start focusing on lawn care in preparation for next spring.
- Reseed if needed
- Fertilize the lawn and add a layer of compost (about one inch)
- Reduce mowing
- Leave grass clippings on the lawn for added nitrogen in the soil
- Treat for grubs in the lawn
Focus on Planting Fall Vegetables
August is the perfect time to plan your fall vegetable garden. Fall vegetables such as radishes, mustard greens, spinach, lettuce, kale, squash, and beet all grow well when the days shorten and the temperatures become cooler.
Additional vegetable garden chores to perform include:
- Pick tomatoes while they are still green and let them ripen on your kitchen counter. However, remember that the flavor is usually more intense if you let the tomatoes ripen on the vine.
- Harvest your cucumbers when they are still young. Avoid keeping them at room temperature it will make them taste bland and their seeds will become big. Remember, the bigger the seeds in cucumber, the blander the flavor. You should pick cucumbers when they are about six to eight inches long.
- Keep peppers on the vine for as long as possible to create a more robust flavor. Always cut peppers with shears and never pull them off the plant or it can damage the pepper and the plan.
- Pick beans in August to enjoy.
- Give melons extra time to ripen. You don’t want to harvest them too early. They should be easy to pull from the vine when ready for harvest and they should have a ripe smell.
- Pull up potato plants, remove the potatoes and replant the entire plant. The process will ensure that you continue getting more tomatoes until the temperate start to freeze.
August garden chores are an important part of maintaining your landscape while preparing for autumn, winter, and spring.
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