Midsummer Garden Tasks: What To Do Before Fall

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With the other summertime rushing behind us , there are plenty of midsummer tasks to keep the garden in top shape and get a jump commence on fall . Watering , come sowing , disperse cuttings , compost and pest ascendence are all on the agenda .

We also have thisseason - by - season garden checklistcovering the integral garden twelvemonth .

Mid-summer garden filled with flowers.

Midsummer Garden Tasks

If you have hot and humid summers like we do here in Ontario , Canada ( zone 6b ) , garden tasks in July and August get divided into must - do and nice - to - do . Ultimately , the weather will determine how much gets done . Sometimes it ’s just too hot — or dangerous — to spend much prison term outside . Other days , we taste these summer days as much as we can .

While we ca n’t skip unremarkable daily tasks like watering new plant plants or seedling , the earthly concern will not cease if green goddess are not pulled or the daisy are not deadheaded .

One midsummer task I always make fourth dimension for isstarting seedsfor previous summer flowers and fall vegetables — something best done indoors since , just like us , most seedling ca n’t tolerate extreme heat either . Then , as summertime wanes , it ’s a nice advantage to have these plants quick for graft outdoors .

Backyard garden mid-summer with flowers and vegetables..

permit ’s walk through some midsummer garden undertaking theme to inspire you to get thing done on the nicer days ahead .

Buy Plants

This one is easy . It ’s time to buy industrial plant . Midsummeris often the fourth dimension tofind good bargainsat works greenhouse and the seasonal section at big box stores .

Pay aid to how long each workshop stays capable for the season and mark your calendar to check off a couple week out front . We ’ve got plant nurseries that close up up by the death of June ( snort ! ) and others that continue all summer long but at some point most commonly offer deep discounts .

To make the most of my budget , I surf the plant shops in springtime , see what ’s extend , and do my best to hold off buying until the summer sale start . evidently some concentrated - to - encounter or in - requirement plants will go for full toll all time of year long , but otherwise , the waiting game is most solid . This does require self - subject field and patience — things my unseasoned , plant - smite self could not conceive of — but if you’re able to muster it — you sure enough get a lot more for your money if you are unforced to wait and accept that selection may be restrict .

Mid-summer garden with shed.

Midsummer is also the prison term topreorder speciality plantslike certain prized variety ofgarlicthat sell out by surrender or some cold - hardyspring - flowering bulbs . It ’s always prissy to have this stuff scheduled for bringing just in time for fall planting .

Related:10 sluttish Ways to prune Costs on Garden Seeds

Sow, Plant, & Harvest

Midsummer in the vegetable garden is a prison term of departures and arrival . We harvest other craw and start some more .

Harvest| If you started intellectual nourishment crops in late bounce or former summertime , some like shekels , radish , turnips , pelf , beet , and carrots may be finishing up . As you harvest former crops , protrude planting or sowing the next round of golf . This has a usefulsuccession sowing planthat works for both containers and grow in garden beds .

This is also the fourth dimension to harvest various untried , tender faster growingpotatoes , especially soft - skinned “ new ” white potato you will consume correctly away .

Coneflowers in bloom.

Some food crops are “ curve and come again ” import , you allow for the roots to continue grow while harvesting choose other parts . Leafy greenness are a near example of this .

Garlic scapes — the supply ship flower buds of hardneck garlic plants — are ready about a calendar month before it ’s time to harvest thegarlic bulbs . harvest home the scapes also allows the plant to direct its vigour into lightbulb product . Plus , there are countless delicious formula online to try .

Prevent Bolting| Summer oestrus is very hard on certain crops which willbolt(jump to previous seed product , skipping the edible point ) or die if temperatures are too eminent . This is plebeian with lettuces and leafy cat valium like rocket . Sometimes adding shade with screen or plow or moving plant containers out of full sunshine is enough to keep the job .

Selecting at pot of flowers at plant nursery.

Sowing & Planting| Now is the time to start seeds — some indoors ( to avoid too much heat ) and some outdoors to turn either a dusk or wintertime veg garden . This has a printable leaning of vegetables to start up midsummer .

assuredness - tolerant optionsinclude broccoli , cabbage , chard , leaf lettuces , spinach , arugula , kale , bok choy , carrot , Swiss chard , and more .

Not only can the cool - large-minded crops be nurtured through the colder months but some crop likecarrots and beets become sweeterwith a touch of frost .

Watermelon growing in the garden and seed packet with watermelon seeds.

If you have 60 days until your average first frost in fall , you may also have meter to filch in a craw of green beans ( expect for 45 to 50 day diversity ) .

Plant Hardiness Zones|United States|CanadaThese are heel on come packets and plant tag to run your choices .

ordinary Frost Dates| Usethis calculatorat Almanac.com . recruit your city and state or state to find your first and last frost date and number of rime - free sidereal day .

Leafy greens in the summer garden.

Ecoregion| get wind about local native plant , animal species , and environmental circumstance to make garden choices that profit your ecosystem .

find out More : see Frost & Freezing For Gardeners

Your mediocre first freeze escort will also determine whether you have time to arise some tight - grow flowers .

Starting seeds in pots.

This tilt offlower seeds to inseminate midsummerhas suggestions based on how much time you have usable .

Related:17 Flower Seeds to Sow Midsummer in June & July

Ongoing Plant Care

Watering| restrain up with watering is non - negotiable for vulnerable plant including freshly sow seminal fluid and new transplants . Any young shrubs , vines , and trees may also need intentional watering . How you deal with drought conditions will depend on the regulations in your area .

Deadheading , which means to move out old flower heads and their bow , can encourage 2nd and third blooming cycles .

If you require tosave seeds , mark your best flowerswhile they are peaking so you hump where to find the right seeds after on . The better efflorescence provide the best seeds — it ’s all about the genetics .

Trimming & Trellis| Any vine or other mounting works may need treillage or string to guide the increase where you require it . It ’s especially important to keep cartroad of perennial climbers so they grow in the desired formation and wo n’t need severe correcting later .

The basic rule of pruning is you could remove any dead , discredited , morbid development any time to exert plant health . Pruning for right formation is generally done in winter when folio have dropped ( so you’re able to see what you ’re doing ) and sap is not flow .

Fertilizer| The motive for fertilizer will depend on your soil and what you ’re growing . Some flowering annuals have all they need for their single time of year of growth . Long - full term pot plants like a fruit tree or flowering perennials may necessitate intermittent doses ofgranular slow - loss fertilizers .

Compost| Keep thatcompost bank identification number or pileturned and water ( as needed ) so you have hatful of pleasant-tasting compost ready to apply in fall .

Related : How to Deadhead Flowers

Propagation By Cuttings

Propagation| For most plants that can be cloned this path , propagation by cutting can happen any time during the grow season . The canonic principle is to take newspaper clipping when the works is not currently bud or flower so it will direct its free energy toward radical increase . This lists works propagation suggestions from bound to fall .

Tomato Cuttings| If you have tomato plants now , you may take cuttings and develop them as new plants . Some tight - growing cherry tomatoes likeTiny Tims(45 days to due date ) may have time to fruit before fall . Alternately , you may grow them in pots indoors in a cheery positioning over the winter . This shows how to take root tomato plant press cutting .

Related:20 Easy Plant Propagation Tutorials for gardener

Examples of flowers to sow mid-summer in the garden.

Pest & Disease Patrol

I use the word “ patrol ” here because I ’m always loth to take action for any pests or diseases in the garden unless I ’m sure anything I do wo n’t cause heavy harm .

For this reason , I attempt to maturate a various survival of the fittest of plants suited to my area to nourish a more sustainable ecosystem . Plus , shillyshally is a great garden tool — so many problem take care of themselves if you entrust them to it . Often a pest problem evidence up and , with clip , the predator appears . Or other symbiotic human relationship deal with it .

That state , midsummer is often prime time for some garden challenges .

Using snippers to deadhead daisy flowers.

Properly name any ( perceive ) blighter and understanding its life sentence hertz is often your best putz . In an ideal setting , we could beguile the squash borer moth or remove its eggs before the borers ever hatch and decimate our crops .

Common diseases likepowdery mildew , while tarry all along , become evident midsummer on plant leaf likesquashes . That ’s an example where prevention and other action are your best bets .

sure invasive pests likeJapanese beetlescan always be hand - picked . If volume are high , it feel like a lose battle — and probably is — but sometimes that ’s all we can do . feeling are mixed abouttraps : yes , you catch a crew but the pheromones ( in the trap ) are also attracting more of them to your garden . you could decide if it seems deserving it .

Using pruners to snip off an old flower head.

If biff and snails are have the veg garden , this excuse what works toslow devastation from slugs and snail in the garden .

touch : Dealing With Slugs & Snails Without Harming Your Garden

Resources

Garden Tools & Checklists

Ebook

Seed Starting for BeginnersSow Inside Grow Outside

by Melissa J. Will

unexampled EDITION| Everything you necessitate to get started with indoor seed starting for indoor and outside plants . arise what you want — any meter of yr !

Taking honeysuckle plant cuttings.