It’s time to dig in to gardening chores

JULY WOULD be 25 per cent over if I lived by the letter
of my law which states that the “‘things-to-do article’’ shall
appear on the first Friday of the month. In light of this,

here it is a week early.

Deadlines being what they are,
I’m writing this on a warm and
sunny Sunday, June 25, 1989. I
was about to issue yet another
premature proclamation of the ar-

tival of summer, when | decided to
phone the weather office just to be

sure.

Bad idea. It looks as though the
weather will steadily worsen as we
move closer to press time. Oh well,
the thought was there. But just in
case the weatherman’s predictions
don"t materialize (now that would
de unusual wouldn’t it?), I wish to
stress the need for watering
throughout the months ahead.

By the way, the phone number
for Environment Canada’s weather
office is 666-1687. It could come in
handy if you’re planning any ma-
jor projects in the garden. No
point in getting all prepared if, in
all likelihood, the day will be a
washout.

Now back to the purpose of this
article, here are a few of the
gardening chores for the month of
July:

© Lawn Care — I feel a bit fool-
ish repeating the same advice from
one month to the next. How many
times can I expect my readers to
thrill at my words of warning over
watering, or helpful hints on
mower heights? Oh weil.

Water the lawn! Drought stress
now will cause weeds and moss
problems later. Your first line of
defence against such pests is a
healthy lawn.

And water deeply. That is, leave’

the sprinkler running for at least
30 minutes in each section of an
established lawn. It takes that long
for the water to penetrate to a
depth that’ is considered healthy
for good root development.

over the
garden gate

Geoff Tobiasson

Light watering will cause the
root system to develop closer to
the surface in search of the
minimal moisture available. The
closer the roots are to the surface,
the sooner they will dry out.

Feed the lawn every six to eight
weeks.

If your brand boasts the ability
to stretch out thc need for re-ap-
plication to more than that, use

*Hanging Baskets

*Geraniums

Palms

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less and do it more often. Look for
brands that contain at least two
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the deeper green color this trace
element creates.

Mow the lawn regularly. Do not
use the old ‘‘keep the grass longer
in summer” excuse. Longer grass
suffers more stress when cut dur-
ing the hot weather, encourages
the decline of the finer bladed
grasses, and promotes problems
with pests and diseases.

© Flower Beds — If you still
have the itch to plant a few an-
nuals and have yet to scratch it, do
so soon. Many of your favorites
are already sold out and most of
those that are left will be available
only in the larger, more expensive
sizes.

If your particular itch is her-
baceous perennials, wait until
August. This year’s production
should start appearing by then,
and you should see a larger selec-
tion than was available earlier in
the spring.

Regular feeding with water-
soluble fertilizer such as 15-30-15,
particularly good for flower pro-
duction or 20-20-20, a general
purpose fertilizer, will produce the
best displays of summer flowers.
In the case of perennials, this at-
tention will result in larger,
showier plants next year as well.

© Vegetable Beds Weed,
water and feed! What else can I
say. These are by far and away

your most important duties during
the summer months in the
vegetable garden. If you can do
nothing else, meet these require-
ments.

Of. course, there are other chores
that, if permitted to secure a
modicum of your attention, can
make vegetable gardening a more
rewarding experience: thin
transplants, provide stakes or
other supports for tall or vining
plants, start sowing seed for fall/
winter crops, begin harvesting and
drying herbs, onions, and garlic,
etc.

If you are the type of person
that believes in good health and
sweet revenge, eat your chickweed.
Its pleasant, cress-like taste makes
it a great addition to salads.

You will not only enjoy the
delights of devouring this scourge
of the garden, but it is the best
organic form of antioxidant I
know of. Antioxidants are believed
by many, including yours truly, to
be major weapons in the defence
against diseases, including cancer.

© Trees and Shrubs — This is
your fast chance to feed most of
your trees and shrubs this year. Do
not apply fertilizers beyond the
end of this month because their
growing season is nearly over. To
do so could force a late burst of
growth that would be timed
perfectly to be damaged by an ear-
ly frost.

It bears repeating — you, must

water in drier weather, especially
around coniferous and broad-leav-
ed evergreens. Too much drought
now will result in excessive shedd-
ing during the fall and winter
months.

Summer-pruning wisterias can
help to increase next year’s flower
production. The removal of up to
SO per cent of this year’s new
growth can encourage the plant to
set more bud for next year.

© Deadheading — is the term
used to describe the removal of
spent flowers. The idea is to
rechannel the energy spent in tie
production of seed into enhancing
the growth of the plant.

Rhododendrons and similar
flowering shrubs, for example,
should be deadheaded immediately
after they have finished blooming.
Annuals such as marigolds and
petunias should be done two or
three times per week.

© Disbudding — If you remove
the small side shoots and their
respective flower buds from plants
such as chrysanthemums and
dahlias, the flowers that are left .
will be much larger.

© Insect and Disease Control —
A regular, close-up inspection of
your garden will enable you to
combat most of these problems by
simply removing the affected parts
or squishing the bugs.

If the problems’ | become more
widespread use the least harmful
product that will procuce results.

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