August within the backyard is a magical place. The summer season show of flowers is at its peak, the pollinators are buzzing by, and there are extra zucchinis than you realize what to do with. However that doesn’t imply there aren’t some August gardening duties to get executed!
By the point August rolls round, the canine days of summer season are simply across the nook. The entire onerous work we’ve put into creating our gardens for the yr is completed, minus a challenge or two.
Now, the main focus is on having fun with and sustaining the backyard! In August, you get to benefit from the bounty of all of your edible crops and the attractive ornamentals of their peak bloom.
These are all of the August gardening duties I wish to deal with, together with the best way to preserve my backyard pleased in the course of the summer season months and the way I benefit from the area in all its glory.
This submit will cowl…
1. Water the Backyard
It’d go with out saying, however the largest process of August will probably be watering. Your annuals, bulbs, and greens will want frequent watering. When extremely popular, this may imply on daily basis. I additionally test on my container crops almost on daily basis as they dry out a lot faster.
I don’t fear a lot about my perennials, except we’ve gone by way of an intensive warmth wave and a drought. Your perennials are fairly good at letting you realize in the event that they want water, together with droopy or crisp leaves.
Attempt to reduce your want for water with these conservation ideas. And heading away on trip? Use these plant sitters to maintain your backyard watered.
2. Deadhead Flowers
The important thing to getting extra blooms is deadheading. That is while you take away the spent flower heads earlier than they go to seed. In flip, the plant produces extra flowers to exchange those they simply misplaced.
This works for a lot of crops, primarily these which might be multi-branching. Others that I deadhead frequently embody dahlia, lavender, hollyhock, petunia, Shasta daisy, and dianthus. I record extra on this submit.
Some flowers I just like the seed heads, so I depart them behind, together with roses, poppies, nigella, irises, and allium.
3. Fertilize
In August, I’m nonetheless fertilizing these crops that I wish to flower and develop. Bear in mind, you solely wish to fertilize in the course of the energetic development season. If the plant is nearing its harvest time, you possibly can cease fertilizing. Perennials typically gained’t want fertilizer throughout this time of yr both.
It’s a good suggestion to prioritize flowering crops, reminiscent of bulbs or minimize flowers, in addition to crops in containers. Fertilize utilizing a granular fertilizer as soon as a month or a liquid fertilizer twice a month. I solely use natural fertilizer because it’s safer and higher to make use of.
4. Prepare Flowers
Talking of minimize flowers, why not clip some flowers out of your backyard and convey them indoors? The bounty of flowers in August is at all times spectacular, and there’s greater than sufficient to carry a couple of to get pleasure from indoors or reward to a neighbour.
To benefit from your minimize flowers, you’ll wish to harvest them within the morning when the plant is probably the most hydrated and place them instantly in water. Select flowers BEFORE they attain peak bloom, so that they last more within the vase and don’t drop pollen and seeds indoors.
5. Weed
Weeding is a unending process in the course of the rising months. I discover it slows down by August, as my chosen crops have now crowded out the beds, and the dearth of rain prevents new seeds from germinating.
That being stated, it’s at all times a good suggestion to do a weekly weed. I stroll by way of my backyard day by day to test on my crops, and I’ll typically decide some weeds as I’m going. Simply 5 minutes a day could make an enormous distinction.
6. Follow Solar Security
Whereas doing all these August gardening duties, keep in mind to maintain solar security prime of thoughts. There are lots of issues you are able to do to guard your self, together with sporting a hat, sunscreen, and lengthy sleeves.
That being stated, the most effective factor you are able to do is keep away from the solar within the first place. I wish to backyard within the mornings and the evenings. If I’m exterior throughout peak solar hours, I attempt my greatest to remain within the shade and underneath an umbrella.
7. Pest Management
One other large upkeep process is maintaining with any pests that will present up. I do all natural gardening, so I take care of pests by inspecting the meals chain and seeing how I can both transfer or change what they’re consuming or introduce one thing to eat them!
As an example, ladybugs are nice for controlling aphids. I additionally embody crops to draw the aphids and preserve them away from my extra treasured crops. Companion planting is a good apply to assist with pest management. And once I’m actually coping with a tough pest, I’ll make a batch of my pure pest management spray.
8. Can and Protect Harvests
August is when many crops start to point out their bounty. Hopefully, you’ve practiced some succession gardening and your harvests are unfold out. However even with cautious planning, we will have greater than we all know what to do with.
After you’ve eaten and shared what you possibly can out of your harvest, protect some to avoid wasting for the chilly season. Pickle greens, make jam out of your fruit and berries, dry herbs, and even avoid wasting flower petals for artful tasks down the road.
9. Assist the Pollinators
Within the thick of the summer season, it’s not simply us who’re thirsty and will go for a splash within the pool. Take into account including a bee tub or a butterfly puddler to assist the little pollinators safely get some water.
You can too add a hummingbird feeder, ensuring to alter the sugar water pretty frequently within the warmth, or a suet feeder for native songbirds.
10. Take Care of Your Physique
A few hours within the backyard is a full-body exercise, and also you wish to keep in mind to deal with your physique kindly. Earlier than gardening, attempt doing a little gentle stretching to get the muscle tissue prepared. Keep hydrated by protecting a water bottle exterior with you, and take breaks typically.
As somebody who began gardening as a manner to deal with a power incapacity, I’ve needed to adapt my strategy to gardening many instances, together with the backyard itself. Listed here are a couple of ideas for utilizing the backyard to heal, in addition to the best way to backyard when coping with again ache.
11. Get pleasure from Your Yard
Your backyard doesn’t need to be all work and no play. Take a second on daily basis to get pleasure from your backyard. Sit out and revel in a cocktail or mocktail that includes substances from the backyard. Host a backyard get together the place you get pleasure from a few of your harvest and the corporate of associates and flowers. Sit exterior and skim that summer season seashore learn everybody’s speaking about.
On the finish of the season, I love to do an enormous clear of all my gardening instruments. But it surely’s additionally a good suggestion to clear instruments intermittently to forestall them from rusting or breaking. Give all of your instruments a fast wipe with a disinfectant to keep away from spreading illness, and sharpen any pruning and trimming objects.
13. Revamp Your Planters
By the tip of August, a few of the crops we began the summer season off with might not be in pristine situation anymore. On the finish of the month, many fall and cool-loving flowers and annuals are on the market. I wish to snag a couple of to revitalize the planters by my entrance door and on my patio, changing any annuals which might be previous their summer season prime.
14. Make a Backyard Craft
I like getting artistic and utilizing my arms to make stunning, garden-inspired artwork. Typically I embody Kiddo and we make a day trip of it, and different instances I make objects to brighten the home or share with others.
I’ve many crafting tasks on the weblog which might be nice for the summer season, together with DIY citronella candles, cyanotype solar print playing cards, eco printing flowers onto cloth, creating dried flower preparations, urgent flowers in a selfmade wooden press, and making clay leaf dishes utilizing crops from the backyard.
15. Calendula Summer season Lotion Bars
It’s no secret right here that I like my pure magnificence merchandise. I at all times wish to know and belief the substances I’m placing on my pores and skin. Each summer season, I at all times make a batch of calendula lotion bars out of all of the calendula blooming in my backyard, because it’s top-of-the-line therapeutic skincare herbs round.
These summer season lotion bars are nice for hydrating the pores and skin, particularly after a day within the solar. They moisturize with out the heaviness of a thicker lotion higher suited to the winter.
And people are all of the August gardening duties I work on this time of yr. What duties do you prioritize in your backyard throughout August? Let me know within the feedback beneath.