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Index : Miscellaneous Gardening Topics
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- 19. August Gardening Activities - Top
- Plant Cacti, Agaves, and other Succulents. These heat-loving plants preform best when planted in hot weather. Our monsoon rains help them get established and start growing. One of the best varieties of cactus for desert landscapes is the Golden Barrel (Echinocactus grusonnii). This is probably the most striking of all barrel cacti with their linear ribs edged with thick, showy golden thorns. Clusters of Golden Barrels of varying sizes set in the landscape are most attractive.
Cut back garden tomatoes to one foot tall to rejuvenate them and stimulate fruit production in the fall. If you intend to plant a fall garden, remove tomatoes and peppers as they stop fruiting. Mix in organic matter, such as peat moss or compost, and let the soil rest prior to planting in October.
Water trees, especially large ones, to make up for this late starting rainy season. Soak the soil from the base of the trunk to the edge of the branches; farther out if possible. A soaker hose is a great way to slow water. Wrap the hose around the tree and spiral it out as you go. Leave the soaker on long enough to wet the top 2 feet of soil. You can check the depth of wetting by pushing a metal probe, such as a concrete reinforcing bar, down into the soil. The probe will push easily down in the wet soil. When it hits dry earth, pull it up and measure the wetting depth. Make adjustments to water longer if necessary.
Fertilize citrus near the end of August to ensure good fruit size. Tangelos are especially sensitive and respond best. Apply two pounds of ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) fertilizer per tree on mature citrus. Water the fertilizer into the soil, or allow rains to soak the fertilizer in. If citrus trees are not growing properly the problem could be that soil or mulch has washed in and around the trunk. Pull back any soil away from the trunk and keep it away by using a lawn and landscape edging.
Harvest Rainwater as it occurs to conserve moisture. Rainwater can be collected in specially made rain barrels or large plastic trash containers hooked to downspouts coming off roof gutters. A hose bib is located near the bottom of the rain barrel to allow the water to be distributed to container plants or to the garden through a hose. You may want to have a series of connected rain barrels, or use larger storage containers such as livestock watering tanks or cisterns to hold water. During a typical monsoon, it’s possible to collect up to 7,000 gallons of rain water from the roof of an average-sized home.
De-thatch bermudagrass lawns early this month to allow time for the grass to recover before fall. Thatch is an accumulation of dead grass plants and roots that covers the soil and forms an dense mat that restricts the movement of water and fertilizer. Take a plug out of the lawn and check the depth of the spongy thatch layer over the soil. If this layer is one half inch or thicker, it should be removed by hand raking with a steel tine lawn rake or power dethatcher.
- Updated: August 7, 2005
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