August

As the heat of August beats down, many plants fight back with dormancy, leaf drop, and reduced blooming, but there are some that love the sun and continue to shine! If your garden is looking sad and beaten, bring it back to life with tall, beautiful salvias, vibrantly colored cone flowers (Echinacea), or bright, stately Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia).

If you’ve nurtured a veggie garden this summer, now’s the time to begin thinking about how best to prepare your beds for next year’s growing season. When the last of the tomatoes have given their best, clean everything up, and sow a cover crop (e.g., vetch, clover, beans, and peas). Cover crops offer the benefits of weed suppression and insect control, as well as improving soil structure, and replenishing nutrients. And when spring comes around, you’ll till that crop into the soil which adds organic matter. A win, win, win endeavor!

Keep up with the watering! We all need to be responsible with our precious water supply, but we have enough water this year to nurture our plants. Regular watering helps them develop healthy root systems, so they are resilient when conditions are drier.

Call me at 707.753.1445 for your free 30-minute consultation.