Come August, many gardens and gardeners are just bone-weary. The summer heat has taken its toll, and in some of the warmer climates, August is the hottest month of the year. To combat the late summer blues, stay strong and start fall garden planning — just the thought of cooler weather is often enough to help me hang in there.
Plan
Continue updating your garden journal, making notes about heat, temperatures, humidity, and rainfall. Have shadecloth on hand to give your summer veggies a bit of a break from the strong sun — my peppers, in particular, appreciate this gesture. Begin planning for your fall garden — what to plant, and where and when to plant it. Order your garlic for fall planting.
Prepare and Maintain
Remove flowers on pumpkin vines and tomato plants to direct the plant’s energy into growing the existing fruit.
Prune tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant to encourage new growth. Your peppers, tomatoes, squash, and eggplant may even appreciate a bit of fertilizer to catch their second wind. Cut basil back to keep it from going to seed.
Remove dead or dying plants — it’s not worth the extra effort to keep them alive this late in the summer. Cooler climates should watch the forecast for early frosts — be prepared to protect plants from damage.
Warmer climates can continue planting and harvesting. All climates can save seeds from the best and healthiest plants in the garden.
Sow and Plant Indoors
Sow and Plant Outdoors
Garden Harvest
All climates should harvest anything that is ripe, including beans, chard, cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, melons, okra, onions, peppers, squash, and potatoes.
Get a Jump on Next Month
In gardening, time moves quickly, well not when you are waiting for plants to sprout and to fruit time seems to slow down in those moments, but when there are chores and seasonal transitions get the jump on next month with our September Garden Checklist
