Bonsai a delicate artform

Gardening Tips for July

Lawns still need about one inch of water each week, either through rain or irrigation. If your centipede is looking a little yellow, add ferrous sulfate and water it in. Make another application of 16-4-8 fertilizer to your St. Augustine grass. Scout and spray for chinch bugs if you find them in your lawn. July is the last chance to fertilize shrubs. July 4 is one of the suggested days to fertilize your camellia trees (also Labor Day). Use acid fertilizer, of course. Do not prune spring-flowering shrubs because buds are starting to form. Be very careful with string trimmers and mowers around trees and shrubs. Young trees can easily be damaged.

You can divide your irises and daylilies after they bloom. Do not pinch back chrysanthemums after Thursday. House plants spending the summer outdoors should be inspected periodically for insects such as spider mites and whiteflies. Spray with a horticultural oil or malathion. If you are opposed to using poisons, use Safer Soap, but more often. A weekly preventative spraying with Daconil or Funginex for powdery mildew on your crape myrtles is preferable to waiting for the problem to arise.

Check your vegetables daily. Harvest vegetables while young and tender; pick early in the day for best quality.

Start planting the fall garden: Brussels sprouts, broccoli, collards and bush beans. Continue fungicide sprays on tomatoes to prevent diseases. Maintain consistent moisture on tomatoes to prevent blossom-end rot. Vegetable gardens need one inch of water per week. If using sprinklers, water in the early morning. When your garden produces more than you can use, take the extra to a neighbor or to Neighbors-In-Need. Contact the Extension office for information on canning and freezing your fresh produce.

People garden in order to make something grow, to interact with nature, to share, to find sanctuary, to heal, to honor the earth, to leave a mark. Through gardening, we feel whole as we make our personal work of art upon the land. A garden really lives only insofar as it is an expression of faith, the embodiment of a hope and a song of praise. Garden on!