11 Gardening Duties to do in August

August is a loopy time within the backyard. Relying on the place you reside, your summer time backyard is winding down because the temperatures cool or should still be going full throttle with no finish to sizzling days in sight. It’s possible you’ll really feel overwhelmed or not sure spend your time within the backyard.

This month is a primary instance of how chaotic nature may be. Whereas some crops die down after a productive season, some pests are revving as much as begin the following technology. Mulch seems used up, whereas compost is prepared for use.

There are nonetheless many gardening duties to care for in August. Some duties are for the present backyard, whereas others sit up for the following season and past. Both means, there are duties to do now that may make it easier to in the long term.

Save Seeds

In lots of zones, August is the proper time to begin saving seeds. Harvest seeds from spent flowers within the edible and decorative backyard.

Save seeds for subsequent yr to cut back prices, or preserve your favourite crops available. For those who grew an uncommon number of one thing that you could be not be capable to discover once more, save these seeds!

Take away seeds from flowers, fruits, or greens. Rinse them off if vital, and enable them to dry out. Retailer them in envelopes, paper luggage, or air-tight containers when utterly dry.

Don’t use plastic luggage. Moisture can construct up inside and trigger seeds to turn into moldy. Whereas they work in a pinch, you’ll want to guarantee no moisture is left within the seeds. For those who completely should use plastic luggage, use a silica moisture absorber within the bag together with your seeds to be on the secure aspect!

Order Bulbs

Don’t plant fall bulbs till the climate is persistently cool. Ordering them early permits loads of time for the bulbs to ship. For those who wait too lengthy to order, shops might run out of what you need or ship previous your ultimate planting timeframe.

Maintain your bulbs in a cool dry location if you obtain them. Plant them as soon as the bottom temperatures drop to 40-50°F, normally as much as 8 weeks earlier than the primary freeze.

Minimize Again Herbs

Herbs are normally unruly by this time of yr, so it’s time to offer them a haircut. This yields a beneficiant harvest to protect for the upcoming winter months whereas guaranteeing there’s loads of time to hold them as much as dry whereas the climate continues to be heat.

Many herbs nonetheless have a lot rising to do as soon as August comes round, and chopping them again will encourage bushier progress. Trim any herbs which have turn into leggy and sparse; they’ll return trying higher than ever.

Device cleansing normally occurs between rising seasons, however August is an efficient time for a touch-up. If any instruments appear rusty or stick a bit if you squeeze the handles, give them a fast cleansing. Soiled and rusty instruments can unfold ailments, which you actually wish to keep away from when ending up summer time crops and starting fall planting.

Wash your instruments with water to knock off filth and particles. Laborious-to-clean spots may be dealt with with a stress sprayer and a few cleaning soap. You need to use WD-40 to take away and forestall rust and loosen up any sticking shifting components. For those who’re not a fan of WD-40, contemplate one other spray lubricant, as it’ll extra simply penetrate the shifting components of your instruments.

Consider Your Mulch

One other August gardening process: refresh your mulch! The mulch you laid down in spring could be deteriorated by now, relying on what sort you used. Pure mulches like straw or wooden break down over time, and the method is sped up with a lot of publicity to water, daylight, and foot visitors.

Add a contemporary layer in case your mulch seems a bit worse for put on. This retains present crops completely satisfied for a bit longer and helps new crops get established.

Repot Houseplants

Take a break from the warmth and focus in your indoor crops. August is a wonderful time to repot houseplants, particularly when you allow them to out to benefit from the summer time solar as a result of it’s in the course of their rising season. The energetic roots could have loads of time to develop into their new soil and acclimate.

Take away the plant from its container and loosen the roots. You may suppose you’ll want to watch out with the roots, however they’re usually fairly resilient and might take a bit roughhousing when you don’t severely harm them. Untangle the roots in the event that they’re rootbound, and take away some present potting soil.

Put together the brand new container by including as a lot contemporary soil as you’ll want to make the highest of the foundation ball line up with the highest of the container. Settle the plant into the brand new pot, ensuring to assist the roots unfold out. Backfill the remaining area with soil, give it a beneficiant drink, and fill in any gaps with additional soil.

Reseed or Restart the Garden

August is the time to reseed patchy areas in your garden. Solely care for troublesome spots quite than the entire garden; it’ll prevent money and time, and there’s no have to seed areas which can be rising properly.

For those who’ve been enthusiastic about garden alternate options, August is the correct time to finish this process! Begin a clover or creeping thyme garden now to offer it loads of heat climate to get established. Add these seeds to your present garden to create a mixture of seeds and clover (or no matter various you select). 

Take away Pests by Hand

An disagreeable however vital August backyard process is pest elimination. Many pests stay extremely energetic in August, and a few are simply starting the following technology. Keep on high of pest issues by hand-picking if you see them. Go on a bug hunt throughout morning or night hours to take away no matter you see.

Many bugs stay in backyard particles. For those who get a bit lazy like I do and let summer time crops die off till you’re able to plant your fall backyard, you solely create a comfortable habitat for them to camp out in.

Eradicating pests by hand will assist disrupt their life cycle and decrease the inhabitants in your backyard. You are able to do double-duty and take away the particles as properly, freshening up the backyard’s look!

Protect Your Harvests

As you choose tomatoes and in the reduction of your herbs, now is a good time for preservation. Flip tomatoes into sauce, can extra squash, and dry or freeze herbs to get pleasure from all winter.

An plentiful backyard can shortly turn into overwhelming. Though it’s good to share with neighbors, save a few of your produce to get pleasure from later. It’s lots of work now, however you’ll get to get pleasure from homegrown meals if you normally can’t.

Plan Fall Greens

Some fall greens may be planted proper now, however you’ll want to attend till the climate cools off (if it ever will!) earlier than planting most of your seeds. When you wait, begin planning what you wish to develop this yr.

There are such a lot of cool-season crops to attempt that you could be battle to suit all of it in your backyard. There are many Brassicas to select from, like cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. You possibly can develop an assortment of greens, from Swiss chard to lettuce to mustard. Onions and garlic may be planted within the fall, as can potatoes, radishes, turnips, and lots of herbs.

Some crops may be began indoors and moved outdoors as soon as the climate cools down, so get began on these. Within the meantime, work on clearing out your backyard beds as your summer time crops cease producing and die out and determine the place to plant your fall crops.

Plan Subsequent Yr’s Backyard

Add planning for subsequent yr to your August backyard duties. It’s onerous to think about subsequent yr if you’re nonetheless engaged on a summer time backyard, but it surely’s the proper time to take action. You’ve a stay backyard in entrance of you—you’ll be able to see proper now what’s working properly and what you would like you would’ve accomplished otherwise. Be aware how every thing is functioning and translate this into subsequent yr’s plan.

See which crops are overcrowded to plan for extra spacing subsequent yr. Additionally, notice which crops are burning up within the solar or which have an excessive amount of shade. 

Take into consideration the little issues, too. Is your watering schedule and system working properly, or is it annoying to take care of? Do you would like you had planted a high-maintenance plant nearer to your backyard shed? You possibly can change these items subsequent yr, so write down what you do and don’t like.