Summer Garden Calendar
The Summer Garden Calendar is your guide to success in spite of the early heat. Our wet winter and spring has spurred plant growth at least a month early in the intermountain and high desert regions of USDA Zones 4-6. And who knows what the rest of the summer will bring? But then, that’s just nature!
Maintain
- Plant your summer vegetables now and…..
- Water regularly to keep the soil moist and your plants thriving in spite of the excessive heat we’re experiencing.
- Use Walls o’ Water for veggies and vining fruits such as tomatoes
image courtesy of thegiantveggiegardener.com and melons. Leave them surrounding your plants until they are fully ripened. Walls act as greenhouses providing warmth at night to extend the growing season and ripen the fruit.
- Add a fresh layer of compost or mulch about 1” deep to all planting beds to hold in moisture and maintain a constant soil temperature.
- Insects are plentiful this year. Use my organic recipes to keep your garden clean and healthy.
- Add 1-c. alfalfa pellets to your roses. Dig into the soil every 30 days for bigger, more colorful blooms. Alfalfa contains slow-release nitrogen and a natural growth hormone. It feeds the plant roots and the soil micro-organisms.
- Water vegetables and fruits deeply and regularly for the sweetest flavor and to avoid cracks on the skin of your tomatoes.
- Add 1 T. epsom salt per 1 gal. water to vegetables, fruits and flowering plants monthly. Epsom salt adds magnesium in trace amounts to prevent blossom end rot on tomatoes. Epsom salt is also terrific for indoor plants as well, particularly those that flower.
- Prune all spring flowering shrubs immediately after they bloom, or prune now if you haven’t already, (when the temperatures drop below 100) so you’ll have flowers again next year. Spring blooming shrubs set blossoms on ‘old’ wood (the previous season’s growth).
- Frogs — click on the Frogs link to the left to enjoy the sound of these hot summer nights.
[Tweet “Prune everything that’s finished blooming after this summer heat! Refresh your flowers.”]
In sync with nature,
Tova Roseman
Earth Diva
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