From My Garden to You

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 ti...

Why grow Sunflowers ? I like to grow sunflowers to provide summer shade in the garden. I have been growing them for so long now that they seed themselves. I allow them to grow, if they provide shade for crops. Those that do not provide shade or are in the pathways and so on, are removed and composted. It is bit of a hit or miss thing sometimes, but generally has worked well. I do prune off the lower branches as they grow and end up with "sunflower trees". The variety of sunflowers are unknown, but they are not the large dinner plate size flowers, but rather a small, branching variety, with many smaller flowers. Often termed "wild sunflowers" perhaps ?