July lawn and garden tips:
- Keep the grass 3 to 3 ½ inches tall with regular mowing. Taller grass is more drought-tolerant by providing more shade to the grass crowns and roots.
- As temperatures begin to increase, consider mulching gardens and flower beds to lessen moisture loss and help prevent annual weeds.
- Side-dress tomatoes and peppers with a complete fertilizer, such as 12-6-6 Growers Special (available at the mill) when they start to flower and produce fruit.
- Stop harvesting asparagus and rhubarb now to allow the plants time to store energy for next year’s crop.
- Watch tomato plants for leaf spot diseases like early blight and Septoria. Lessen the occurrence of these diseases by watering early in the day and keeping the moisture off of the leaves as much as possible. Try to limit working among wet plants since this can increase the spread of the disease to other plants. Keep the soil from coming in contact with the foliage and developing tomatoes by staking and mulching. If you remove infected leaves, consider placing them in the trash or use some other method of destroying them. They should not go into the compost. Fungicides are available to help control the spread of the disease. Please follow all label directions for the product.
- Help prevent blossom end rot in tomatoes by keeping the soil consistently moist. Wide fluctuations in soil moisture can affect the plant’s ability to take up nutrients, which can lead to a greater occurrence of the disease. Use mulch to help prevent moisture loss and consider using drip irrigation as an efficient method of applying water on a needed basis. Tomatoes grown in pots during hot, dry periods could require more than one watering a day.
- Continue to deadhead any old blossoms on all annuals to continue blooming. Fertilize flowering annuals during the first bloom and again before the season ends for the best results.
- Oblong-shaped holes in plant leaves could be slug damage. Stop at the mill to pick up a product to control these pests.
- Plants grown in containers and hanging baskets need extra care in the hot weather of July. Check moisture levels daily, watering as needed, and consider using a water soluble fertilizer at half strength weekly to provide additional nutrients.
- If irises are not blooming as well as in past years, it may be time to divide the bed. Late July is a good time to restore a bed by removing poor rhizomes and replanting only the healthy stock.
- Garlic growers - remember that mid-July to early August is the time for harvesting. Get information on harvesting and curing garlic from the U of M Extension at www.extension.umn.edu/garden/fruit-vegetable/growing-garlic-in-minnesota/.
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20% Off
Growers Special
12-6-6 fertilizer
1 coupon per customer. Expires 7/31/17
Hugo Feed Mill & Hardware
5582 146th St. N. Hugo, MN 55038 651-429-3361
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20% Off
All Vegetable Fungicides
(Maximum value: $5.00)
1 coupon per customer. Expires 7/31/17
Hugo Feed Mill & Hardware
5582 146th St. N. Hugo, MN 55038 651-429-3361
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