Garden needs extra care in the heat
Sunny, hot days have been the norm. It seems the “dog days” have started early. Until or unless we get our usual mid-summer monsoon rains keep tending your garden and take frequent breaks to enjoy the fruits and blooms of the season. It’s county fair season — check out the fun, they’re in full swing throughout Colorado.
Fair getaway
• Farm animal viewing, kid friendly tractor pulls and farm to table dinners — there’s something for everyone. Ride the Ferris wheel or sing along with the featured artist. Food fair can’t be beat — fried, dipped or battered, it all tastes better at the fair. Gardeners can give a try at exhibiting their best produce and flowers, you might be growing a blue ribbon. Here are some fairs: Montrose County Fair and Rodeo, Montrose, Monday-July 28; Mesa County Fair, Grand Junction, Tuesday-July 28; Eagle County Fair and Rodeo, Eagle, Wednesday-July 28; Weld County Fair, Greeley Wednesday-July 30; Arapahoe County State Fair, Aurora Thursday-July 29; Fremont County Fair, Fremont, Friday-Aug. 5; Adams County Fair, Brighton, Aug. 1-5; Archuleta County Fair, Pagosa Springs, Aug. 2-5; Douglas County Fair and Rodeo, Castle Rock, Aug. 2-5 Larimer County Fair, Loveland, Aug. 3-7; Boulder County Fair,
Longmont, Aug. 3-12; San Luis Valley Fair, Monte Vista, Aug. 4-11; Jeffco Fair & Festival, Golden, Aug. 10-12; and the Colorado State Fair, Pueblo, Aug. 24-Sept. 3
In the landscape
• Help your stressed lawn by keeping it cooler — let it grow a little longer between mowing, up to four inches. The additional leaf area cools and shades the crowns of the grass.
• Brown spots are everywhere. The obvious fix is to increase watering times per zone. Not. The correct answer is to check your sprinkler system, specifically the heads (they may just be clogged). Examine heads during the day so you can see what’s going on. Call in a sprinkler professional for repairs if you’re not a DIY.
• Wait until mid-August to fertilize cool-season grasses including Kentucky blue grass, fescues and ryegrass. Keep adding valuable nutrients to your lawn the easy and cheap way — leave your grass clippings to break down.
• Avoid applying weed killers when temperatures are high.
• Water lawns in the early morning, infrequently and deeply— to a depth of four inches.
Vegetables/herbs
• During flowering and fruiting green beans need more water than other crops. Dropped blossoms, pollywog shaped beans and gray/green foliage (instead of dark green) are signs they need more water.
• Harvest snap beans 50-80 days after planting, depending on variety and weather conditions. Pick the pods when they are 3-5 inches long and while the seeds are small and tender.
• Pull carrots when the roots are 1 to 1K inches in diameter at the top. The upper part of the carrot may turn green when exposed to sun. Mound soil over the crown of the root a few weeks before harvest to prevent greening.
• Harvest summer squash when long varieties (zucchini) are 6-8 inches in length and scalloped varieties (patty pan) are 3-4 inches in diameter.
• Herbs, like thyme and chives, appreciate a haircut to remove spent seed heads (unless you’re saving the seeds). New leaves will emerge for continued use.
• The third season of vegetable gardening has begun (if you have room). Planting mid-July allows longer maturing plants time to grow for harvest in 60 days. Shorter maturing cool season crops like lettuce and arugula can be seeded later in August. There are many choices to sow — green beans, cutables, cumber, okra, New Zealand spinach, summer squash, parsley, peas, bunching onion, cauliflower, Swiss chard, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, celery and beets.
• Be sure to share extra harvest goodies with friends, neighbors, shelters and food pantries.
Watch for
• Blossom End Rot (BER) on tomatoes is often seen on the first ripening tomatoes. The fruit bottoms turn leathery with sunken brown to black lesions. Factors that lead to BER — calcium deficiency when fruit begins growing rapidly, extreme temperature fluctuations, waterlogged soils or too much nitrogen. Pepper, squash, eggplant and watermelon also are prone to this condition. Remove affected fruits, maintain consistent watering and mulch to keep soil moisture even.
• Spider mites (actual teeny tiny spiders) thrive in hot, dry weather and feed on many plants, vege- trees and evergreens. They suck plant juices causing bronzing discoloration, flecking and scorching of leaves that lead to loss of leaves, even plant death if damage is severe. The webbing they produce protects them and their eggs by keeping natural predators away (the good guys like ladybugs and predatory mites). Use of pesticides will kill beneficial predators — products like carbaryl (Seven) actually stimulate spider mite populations. Rid spider mites by blasting them off with water. Douse spider mite vulnerable vegetables like tomatoes and eggplant with water in the mornings so the foliage can dry during the day. Repeat often if needed. Containers growing on hot patios are very prone to spider mite infestations.
• Keep flicking and drowning Japanese beetles in soapy water in the morning or evening when they are most sluggish. Now is a great time to treat lawns for developing grubs (next year’s generation of Japanese beetles). Find helpful management information at http://extension.colostate.edu/topicareas/insects/japanesebeetle-5-601/