by Linda Carloni
It’s been a cool summer in June and July, and the dread ‘Fogust’ may continue the cool weather. But we may get some warmth in August, and we are pretty sure to have a warm September. Our tasks for the next two months include both celebrating the summer garden and beginning to look to autumn.
Continuing the summer garden
- Make sure your irrigation system is working well for your maturing crops. Crops like tomatoes can do with less water after the fruit has set and while it is ripening, and that may even improve their taste.
- Keep after the pests! When the weather is warm, the insects reproduce more quickly and are quite active. Monitor your garden so you can manage problems early when they are small. Aphids can crop up on your vegetables mid-summer, and respond to early management.
- Keep deadheading your flowers to prolong bloom.
- As you clear out spent plants, remember to feed your compost bin or pile with the non-diseased remnants of the summer garden.
- As it gets hot, keep a particular eye on your container plants. Soil in pots can dry out quickly and plants can be damaged.
Starting your autumn garden
- August is not too early to start planting for your fall and winter garden. Good plants for a cool season garden include broccoli, cabbage, other leafy greens, Asian greens, beets, garlic, carrots, potatoes, and many more. Here’s a comprehensive guide about growing cool weather vegetables.
- If winter vegetables are not of interest, a great way to improve your soil for your next planting cycle is to plant a winter cover crop.
- Onions are definitely a winter crop and do best with specific techniques. Here’s a guide to growing great onions, which need to be started by mid October.
- Garlic is another winter crop, less tricky than onions, and very fulfilling. You can plant it in October or November. Here’s how.
As you’re preparing for fall and winter, perhaps the most important task of August and September is to eat and enjoy the produce you’ve grown over the summer.
