August Sustainable Garden Checklist
- Sarah Valentine Design
- Aug 20, 2020
- 2 min read
Summer is in full swing here in Pemby, the flowers are bursting with colour, shrubs are growing in all directions and the veggie boxes are filled to capacity, but you can tell summer's quiet sister, autumn, is right around the corner with dew on the grass and jumpers needed first thing in the morning!
The skis are smokey from local wildfires, which seems to have a dampening affect on the scorching heat we've been having, but I still have a huge list to do for my August Garden!
August Garden Checklist
1. Sow more seeds of lettuce, mesclun and arugula - to keep me on top of my seed sowing, I try to plant more seeds at the beginning of each month during the growing season, sowing directly from June 1st to August 15th
2. Add more wood ash to all beds, but particularly the roses as their blooms need an extra boost with all the heat and water draining nutrients from the soil
3. Remove spent flower heads and old leaves - this seems neverending but sure helps if you wish to have continual blooms!
4. Keep on top of herb collection, collect large handfuls, wrap loosely with rubber bands and store in brown paper bag in cupboard until dried for teas
5. Clip lavender flowers as they fade to keep plant looking fresh
6. Trim hedges and bushy shrubs as the flowers fade to allow energy be put back into leaves and roots
7. Begin dividing flowering perennials such as bearded iris and echinacea so the plants have a few months of root growth before the ground freezes
8. Propagate cuttings of shrubs, such as weigela, lavender and sage by layering woody branches under the soil, stripping the bark first to allow for roots to easily sprout from the branch.
9. Remove tops of tomatoes by the fourth truss to focus energy on ripening existing tomatoes
10. Yank out and destroy invasives such as common burdock and thistle
11. Start saving seeds of dried pea and bean pods, marigolds, sprouting lettuce and argula left in the garden bed
12. keep potatoes, kale and cabbages well watered
13. Add diluted fish emulsion to all garden beds as a late-summer top up
14. Spread a mid-season layer of fresh mulch and compost
15. Plant fall bulbs such as crocuses now to give them enough time to bloom before winter.
I admit, I'm feeling a little nostalgic as fall encroaches on summer, although I love all the seasons and skiing, I do miss my garden in the winter!
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