Early August
It's time to . . .
- Monitor the moisture level of all recently planted perennials, trees, and shrubs.
- Look for leaf roll on tomatoes. It’s usually due to soil that has become very wet. You may need to cut down on watering.
- Keep picking herbs. Cut whole stems for drying. Many can be frozen or used to flavor vinegars. CSU Fact sheet 9.335
- Water lawn about every four days for a total of 1-3/4 to 2 inches per week. Keep watching the weather and the actual condition of the lawn before watering.
- Watch for symptoms of iron chlorosis on trees and shrubs. Leaves turn pale-green, then yellow with dark-green veins; needles become yellow, then brown, and begin to drop. An application of chelated iron may be needed. CSU Fact sheet 2.928
- Don't prune trees or shrubs unless damage makes it absolutely necessary
- Fertilize roses for the last time this season.
- Divide spring-blooming perennials now if they need it.
Mid to Late August
It's time to . . .
Plant spinach. Harvest tender leaves for salads in the fall, then over-winter for
early spring greens.
Harvest onions when 80 per cent of the tops have fallen over.
- Fertilize lawns between now and mid-September using one pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
- Reduce watering of trees and shrubs to prepare them for winter.
- If spring-flowering bulbs were crowded or needed relocation, do it now. Let them dry a few days in a cool shady spot. Choose the best ones to re-plant.
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