What to do in your garden in July (apart from hoping for rain)
What to do in your garden in July (apart from hoping for rain!)
July is hopefully the month when we get some monsoon rains - yay !
The humidity is rising and this actually gives the plants a little bit of relief from the heat, even if it is a lot more uncomfortable outside for you and me.
So what should you be doing this month ?
July Checklist
Watering
Check for irrigation leaks. Continue watering schedule as per June, unless it we get a good monsoon soaking. Deep and less frequently is always preferred over shallow and often.
Find a wonderful person to water for you if you go on vacation and if you have a battery operated irrigation timer attached to a hose bib, make sure to get them to check if the battery is working. ( I speak from experience here. There is nothing more soul destroying then coming back from vacation to a dead garden, because the battery on your timer decided that this was the week it was going to fail !).
Trees
This is the time when you should be taking a good critical eye at your trees. Remove any branches that are - Dead, Diseased, Dying or Crossed with each other. Check that the tree canopy is not top heavy - too much weight on the top of your tree may cause it to topple over in high winds. If the crown of the tree is too dense, thin it to prevent damage.
We all have seen downed trees after a big storm. Make sure that tree is not yours !
Pruning Shrubs and other plants
Unless it is in the way of the mail man, don't prune anything !
Even dead bits of the plant will provide shade for the living parts. At this point in the season, you just want the plant to stay alive until cooler weather returns.
Also, if you prune, that stimulates the plant to produce new growth which not only is tender, but also causes the plant to use up more water, as it struggles to replace the parts you have just cut off !
What can you plant ?
I do not normally plant anything in my vegetable garden in July, but rather peruse the seed catalogues, plan my fall garden and tend to the soil. You will see in the calendar though, that there are things you can plant if you wish. These include - Black Eyed Peas, Cantaloupe Melons and Winter Squash.
For a comprehensive vegetable planting calendar, visit:
https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1005.pdf
July is hopefully the month when we get some monsoon rains - yay !
The humidity is rising and this actually gives the plants a little bit of relief from the heat, even if it is a lot more uncomfortable outside for you and me.
So what should you be doing this month ?
July Checklist
Watering
Check for irrigation leaks. Continue watering schedule as per June, unless it we get a good monsoon soaking. Deep and less frequently is always preferred over shallow and often.
Find a wonderful person to water for you if you go on vacation and if you have a battery operated irrigation timer attached to a hose bib, make sure to get them to check if the battery is working. ( I speak from experience here. There is nothing more soul destroying then coming back from vacation to a dead garden, because the battery on your timer decided that this was the week it was going to fail !).
Trees
This is the time when you should be taking a good critical eye at your trees. Remove any branches that are - Dead, Diseased, Dying or Crossed with each other. Check that the tree canopy is not top heavy - too much weight on the top of your tree may cause it to topple over in high winds. If the crown of the tree is too dense, thin it to prevent damage.
We all have seen downed trees after a big storm. Make sure that tree is not yours !
Pruning Shrubs and other plants
Unless it is in the way of the mail man, don't prune anything !
Even dead bits of the plant will provide shade for the living parts. At this point in the season, you just want the plant to stay alive until cooler weather returns.
Also, if you prune, that stimulates the plant to produce new growth which not only is tender, but also causes the plant to use up more water, as it struggles to replace the parts you have just cut off !
What can you plant ?
I do not normally plant anything in my vegetable garden in July, but rather peruse the seed catalogues, plan my fall garden and tend to the soil. You will see in the calendar though, that there are things you can plant if you wish. These include - Black Eyed Peas, Cantaloupe Melons and Winter Squash.
For a comprehensive vegetable planting calendar, visit:
https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1005.pdf
Enjoy this sunflower - such a change from Yellow !
Very useful advice! I never knew about the humidity relief.
ReplyDeleteThanks Weston !!!
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