Things to do in the garden now
It’s time to ready the garden for fall. A checklist of things to do in August:
• Prepare the soil for fall vegetables by adding 2-4 inches of quality compost. Some can be sown or transplanted now, others next month.
• Transplant healthy, stocky tomatoes as soon as possible. Provide temporary shade while the plants establish.
• Transplant peppers.
• Sow cucumbers, snap beans, summer squash.
• Decide which cool-season vegetables you’d like to add later in September-October. Options include beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, radish, Swiss chard, spinach and turnips.
• Remove spent crape myrtle blooms to encourage more flowers.
• Transplant Louisiana iris mid-August through September.
• Prune oleanders at the end of the month or early September if needed.
• Watch for migrating hummingbirds. Keep feeders clean and full. Add nectar plants such as cuphea, hamelia, lantana, salvia and turk’s cap.
• Give annuals and perennials a trim if needed.
• Trim roses and fertilize.
• Prune deadwood from trees. It’s hurricane season.
• Water the lawn slowly, deeply to encourage roots to grow downward.
• If sod webworms are busy damaging your lawn, treat with Bt, Spinosad or beneficial nematodes.
• Watch for chinch bugs. They like hot, dry areas of the lawn such as those near the drive or sidewalk.
• Check hibiscus for mealybugs and scale. Remove infested foliage. Treat as needed. Apply fish emulsion.
• Remove summer-weary cast iron leaves. Water and you’ll soon have fresh foliage in your bed and to cut for fall arrangements.