UMASS Gardening TIPS

Garden Clippings: Tips of the Month

July is the month to . . . .

• Plan the fall garden and plant crops. In the early part of the month, begin to map out placement for fall crops. Towards the end of the month, begin direct sowing plants such as beets, bush beans, carrots, turnips, rutabaga, radishes, lettuce and peas.

• Sow summer herbs. Continue succession planting of tender, easily bolting herbs such as cilantro and dill. Regularly pinch basil to avoid flowering. Prune thyme and sage after flowering for new leaf growth.

• Pick blueberries! Pick berries about a week after they’ve turned blue for larger fruit and a sweeter flavor. Birds are not particular when it comes to blueberry ripeness, so add netting when the fruit begins to form or when the color begins to darken.

• Deadhead flowers. To encourage blooming of annuals throughout the season, deadhead flowers on a regular basis.

• Create a watering station for honeybees. Honeybees regularly collect water on hot summer days to help cool the colony and supplement offspring food provisions. If you keep bees or frequently see honeybees, you can fill a shallow bowl with water and place rocks, sticks or shells within it for a safe place to land. Other pollinators, like butterflies and wasps, may also make use of it. Refresh the water regularly to discourage mosquitoes.

• Care for tomatoes. Monitor rain patterns to avoid big moisture fluctuations. Prune suckers to direct growth towards fruit rather than leaves. Remove diseased and yellowing leaves from the bottom and within the “canopy” for improved air flow. Fertilize every 4-6 weeks with a complete fertilizer. Pick tomatoes regularly to encourage fruit production.

• Utilize a zucchini bumper crop. Successful gardeners often find themselves with a glut of zucchini. Spiralize and freeze it now to have gluten free, low carb “noodles” in the middle of winter. Be sure to blanch it first to avoid mushy zucchini when it's thawed.

• Keep an eye on fruit trees. Now is not the time to prune trees as it will encourage growth that could be susceptible to winter injury. However, monitor limbs that may become heavily loaded with fruit and prop as necessary to avoid breakage.

• Order fall bulbs and seed garlic. Catalogs are available for fall plantings such as ornamental bulbs and seed garlic. Place an order now to ensure stock is available.

• Mulch, or not. Utilize straw or even newspaper or cardboard around plants to suppress weed growth and help retain moisture in the soil. Consider not mulching dry loving plants, such as culinary herbs. Also be sure to continue weeding so those plants don’t compete for resources.

• Water strawberries. Continue to water strawberries intermittently throughout the season as their growth continues past fruiting. Proper care now can increase yields for next year.

• Get the most from broccoli plants. Once the main head of broccoli has been harvested, the plant will continue to send up side shoots, making for additional harvests, if the plants are left in the ground.

• Mow high… And follow growth patterns for frequency. Allow grass to grow to the point where you would aim to remove one third of its height. Less than that is too often, causing stress, and more than that is not enough, causing shock when a large amount of the shoot is removed.

• Watch for Japanese beetles. Making their summer debut, Japanese beetle adults are always likely to become a pest as the summer wears on. Reuse a disposable drink bottle, filled 2/3 high with soapy water as a destination for beetles mechanically removed from plants.

• Harvest garlic. If scapes remain, remove them from hard neck garlic varieties in order to encourage bulb growth. Harvest bulbs once 1/4 - 1/3 of the leaves have begun to turn yellow

• Monitor for powdery mildew. If cucurbits are beginning to display the white spots of powdery mildew, spray leaves with a solution of 1-4 teaspoons of baking soda (depending on severity) to 1 quart of warm water.

• Water plants properly. Unsure when to water? It is best to do fewer deep waterings over regular light waterings. Check the soil to ascertain moisture levels.

Harmonie O'Loughlin, Stakeholder Relationship Coordinator, UMass Extension Commercial Horticulture