One more month of heat to go before things start cooling off! Luckily, August brings a lighter workload with a focus on continuing basic upkeep and spraying your favorite plants regularly to protect them until the feeding frenzy ends. Once the night temperatures begin to drop later in September many pests will return to the ground and your battle against pests will diminish.
EARLY AUGUST
- Keep garden weeds from going to seed.
- Continue to monitor aphids as they will show up all season long. Combat with a strong blast of water or insecticidal soap.
- Continue controlling cucumber beetles that spread bacterial wilt with weekly dusts of insecticides.
- Avoid pruning trees and shrubs because the new growth may not harden off in time for winter.
- Enjoy harvesting your fruit and vegetables regularly to avoid attracting more pests with overripe fruit.
MID AUGUST
- Disbud dahlias for extra-large flowers.
- Prune out old raspberry canes to prepare for next year and avoid disease. Leave 3-4 canes per foot of row.
- Divide Iris and check for rhizome rots. Destroy all infected plants.
- Continue watering flower beds once a week in dry periods.
- Harvest early apples.
- Dig early potatoes as vines die down.
LATE AUGUST
- Continue to maintain spray program on fruit trees.
- Harvest pears as they become light green.
- Divide spring flowering perennials.
- Now is a great time to seed or sod new lawns or repair damaged areas in existing lawns.
- Continue deadheading to prepare for a final late-season flower display.
Have questions? Not sure which insecticide to use? Call or stop by Vande Hey Company today and we can give suggestions, recommend products, and walk with you as you continue striving towards your backyard dream oasis. Call 920.788.6344 today!