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Tips for July | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
July is a very busy time in the vegetable garden, in the herb garden, and for your fruit trees. Between cutting the lawn, tending the garden, getting ready for canning for the coming winter, and keeping everything fed and watered, you may not have very much time to do anything else. Additionally, this is the time of year when many of our woodland friends come looking for some tasty morsels, as they start to become harder to find in the wild. Deer, rabbits, birds, mice, and lots of other animals are on the search for a good meal. And you've been so kind to grow your beautiful roses, and corn for the deer. The rabbits are loving the radishes and lettuce you've grown, and the birds and mice are enjoying their fair share too. Unless you take steps to keep them out of your plantings, they will come. Just a few deer can ravage a garden in no time. Rabbits on the other hand, will nibble a little bit here, and there as they make their way through the garden while you sleep. There are many things you can do to help keep these critters out of your garden. Everything from electric fencing, to simple fishing line running from pole to pole around your garden and flowers. There are a number of different repellents on the market today. Some are even organic. Do a little research at your local nursery, or talk to one of the old-timers when you're at the local market to find out what insights they have to offer. If the rabbits in your area are of a decent size, you might be inclined to break out the pellet gun, and not only help control the local population, but add a bit of variety to the dinner table. Fresh meat on the table always makes an excellent compliment to your fresh vegetables. Rabbit is good too, and since in many areas, their natural predators have been eliminated, and knowing that rabbits are rather prolific, you'll be doing your local ecosystem a favor. If you've been on top of your gardening game, and have gotten out plenty of vegetable plants early enough, you should already be seeing some fruits on your tomato plants, some small broccoli, and baby carrots, along with radishes, peas, and many more. Now is the time to offer your plants a good feeding, either with a side dressing of compost, or some time release fertilizer. Just use a balanced fertilizer, and stay clear of anything that says "bloom booster" or something of that nature. With these products, it is easy to toxify the soil by adding too much of any single component, which can make many of the nutrients that already exist, become unavailable to your plants. This is a good time to get a secong crop of your favorites either in the ground as seedlings, or planting seed directly in the garden, or you can even get some new plants going in starter pots... better yet, do all three! Many gardens that you see growing in your neighborhood, will have all of the vegetables in nice tidy little rows, with plenty of space in between. There are many things you can do to increase your harvest by making good use of the spaces in between the plants that are already growing. Here are a few suggestions: Go out to your garden, and plant a batch of peas right in with your corn, so that they will grow right up the stalks. Plant a batch of carrots in with your already established tomatos. Plant some cucumbers in with your lettuce and spinach. Use your imagination... think about what will be coming out of the garden first, but will provide a nice shady location for seedlings that will take their place when you harvest them... take advantage of every bit of your available space. As your plants grow, and join up, weeding will also be less of an issue. Where your lawn is concerned, fertilize with summer formulas, and be sure to raise the height on your mower. Allowing the grass to stay a bit taller will help to keep it green, as well as conserve moisture. Remember that your lawn only needs about an inch of water per week, and that deep watering will encourage healthy root growth, whereas frequent shallow watering wastes water through evaporation, and allows the soil to dry out faster. Give your fruit trees a thorough watering once per week. Use your grass clippings under the trees as a mulch, and create a burm around the treeline to help keep the water concentrated where it needs to be. Examine your fruit trees carefully, and remove anything that looks sick, twisted, or diseased. Diseased materials should either be burned, or composted. If you burn, be sure to add the ash to your compost pile. Additional things to do... be sure to eliminate any standing water from your property so that you don't inadvertantly create a breeding ground for mosquitos, keep your birdbath filled with fresh water so that the birds will find a refuge on your property, and assist you with bug control, make sure that your pets have a steady supply of fresh water as well as a place to get out of the hot sun and stay cool, (remember, they are wearing a fur coat all year long)... you might even go out in the afternoon, and do your dog a favor by hosing him or her down to help them cool off, as well as to help keep them clean, keep your compost pile moist and remember to turn it regularly, and if your pile is ready for use, don't just keep adding to it, start a new one for later in the year, If you are needing new supplies for canning, start shopping now. And finally, bookmark this site! Come back from time to time and look for new articles. Use it for a source of reference. As time goes by, many of the existing articles will be added to, and new ones will be created. Happy Gardening, and green thumbs to all! |
Herbs Index Recipes Winter gardening Seeds Artichokes Asparagus Beans Beets Broccoli Brussels Sprouts Cabbage Cantaloupe Carrots Cauliflower Celery Corn Cucumbers Eggplant Garlic Kale Kohlrabi Leeks Lettuce Melons Okra Onions Peas Peppers Potatoes Pumpkins Squash Sunflowers Tomatoes Watermelons |
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