Things to do in your garden in July.
Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar
by John Hethrington, Master Gardener Emeritus
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario
Please contact John for more information!
July Garden Tips:
- Watch for the Japanese beetle on your Asiatic Lilies, Roses, Rose of Sharon, Dahlias, Hollyhocks, and numerous other plants. Handpicking and squeezing, combined with a beetle trap, are the most efficient way to limit these ravaging critters. Luckily, the little red devils don’t eat Day Lilies (Hemerocallis)
- Watch for earwigs and Gypsy moth caterpillars. Spray plants with a 40:1 mixture of water and dish soap.
- Ants are also a problem. The ant powder does not seem to work for me. Maybe the ants didn’t read the instructions to take it back to their nest. Try boiling water.
- Trim evergreens, cedar hedges, etc., NOW as needed, not later in the summer.
- Stake straggly annuals and perennials, or pinch them back to promote new growth and make them bushy.
- Raise lawn mower blades for summer mowing. Grass should be at least 5 - 7.5 cm (2 to 3 inches) high to stay healthy and weed free.
- Prune spring flowering shrubs like Forsythia and Spirea after blooming, If you really want to be picky, remove individual spent lilac blooms.
- Water flower beds deeply and try a second round of weeding. Add mulch again to keep the weeds at bay.
- Mulch your tomato plants. When a ripe tomato drops, it won’t split or get muddy. Mulch holds moisture too!
- Thin, hoe, weed and water vegetables as required. (This is why I stick to flowers)
- Water lawns and beds as deeply as you can. We have had a very dry spring, so keep pouring the water to the grass.
- Tackle weeds now before they go to seed. Save yourself from weeding their offspring next year.
- Stake tall perennials that may be weakened by too rapid growth.
- Turn compost regularly and check the moisture level - not too wet, not too dry,- like Goldilocks, just right.
A big thank you to everyone who turned out for our Giant Plant Sale at St. George’s, the Anglican Parish for the Blue Mountains, in Clarksburg. You bought all 1,114 donated plants at an average cost of just $7 for a prized perennial. Thanks to the many plant donors TOO! They will get their income tax receipts in December.
John Hethrington, Master Gardener Emeritus,
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario
Beaver Valley Probus Club