August chores keep gardeners busy

Hopefully, you are enjoying the well deserved bounty your labors have created. It's always important to take time to sit and stare at the flowers, the fruiting plants, and the lush greenery in your yard and garden.

But there are never ending tasks to take care of this month. To keep the harvest growing you can plant a row of peas and lettuce for fall harvesting. Many of the herbs, like basil, are going to seed, so it's a good idea to harvest some and dry them, and others can be dug, potted so they can be brought indoors for the cold season. I have moved a dry seeded stalk of cilantro to a bare place in the garden where I want a new crop of cilantro and used another stalk to harvest and save the coriander.

You can check out the rows of mulch and see if they need more to preserve the moisture and add manure to any plant that looks like it's too yellow. Needless to say, dead heading is a constant job. I do it almost automatically and my granddaugther learned the task too well as you have to stop her from picking the flowers off before they are spent. Don't forget to start thumbing through the fall catalogues where you can order your garlic and flower bulbs for fall planting.

Its' a great season for the garden. Enjoy!

August 27, 2010

August chores keep gardeners busy