July is a summer month and summer in the garden means a few things.
Watering is critical now as your plants are growing at a rapid rate. If you do not get enough natural rain you will have to water. The best time to water is early in the morning. If you can, try to not get the leaves of the plants wet. The best way to do this is using drip irrigation, but even hand watering you can keep the water close to the base of the plant. If you do have to water using an overhead sprinkler just be sure midday sun is not hitting your plants, it will burn them.
Weeding is also necessary right now. If you get a lot of rain you will notice the weeds really growing and taking over. They rob your plants of valuable light and nutrients.
July is a good time to prune some flowering shrubs and flowers. I prune my plants just after they flower. I also prune some of my evergreen shrubs this time of year. Pruning encourages new growth and any new growth will have time to harden off for winter.
If you have not put houseplants outside and would still like to it is not too late. However, the strong sun will likely burn the leaves so put the houseplant outside in the shade or morning sun for a few days before exposing it to the full midday sun.
Prune your tomatoes this month by removing suckers. The suckers form in the crotch of the tomato branches. Pinch them out with your forefinger and thumb.
If you grow flowers be sure to remember to bring some inside. I like to cut my flowers late in the day when they are dry.
You can plant beans, radish and even some hot weather lettuce this month as well. Put some in a pot if you do not have a full fledged garden.
Watch for bugs and fungus this month and look for organic products to control them. Click here. [ Ссылка ]
