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Mid summer garden chores

Mid-summer is a time to enjoy the bounties of your beautiful gardens, but the enjoyment comes at a price.

Lawns, trees, flowers and vegetables are well-established and blooming. The abundance of vegetables and fruits of the gardens is peaking, veggies are ripening daily.

You might experiment with some new recipes or go to a Farmers’ Market to try different produce not in your garden. However, nothing good comes without some good old-fashioned elbow grease.

Here are some mid-summer chores to keep your yard and gardens beautiful and productive:

1. Water! Water! Water! August weather is hot, dry and windy so make sure all trees, bushes and flowers get plenty of water. Container plants, hanging baskets and annual flowers need water daily. It’s best to water in the mornings.

2. Don’t cut the lawn shorter than 2-3 inches. Add organic material to the soil and mulch around plants to keep soil moist.

3. Weeds! Weeds! Weeds! Although the weeds may be growing faster, bigger, better than the beautiful expensive plant purchased this past spring, don’t give up. Try to keep most of the weeds under control especially those that reseed. Hoe out the small weeds before this task becomes overly daunting.

4. Deadhead spent flowers. Cutting flowers back often gives way for second or continuous blooms and gives plants a bushier and greener appearance.

5. Prune flowers from shrubs, roses and other woody plants after blooms fade to encourage plant growth for next year.

6. Sow lettuce, radish, beets, carrots, spinach, and kale seeds now for fall harvesting.

Guests are welcome to attend the Master Gardener meetings the second Tuesday of each month.

Please call 307-864-3421 for information about meeting time and location or about the Red Dirt Master Gardeners, volunteers for a beautiful and healthy community.

 

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