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Garden tips for July

by Jack McKinnon

July is typically hot inland and cool on the coast with occasional spectacular days on the coast and overcast days in the valley. Gardening is basically the same in either climate except for when it is not.

When it is not, having a garden coach really helps. A garden coach walks you through your garden and gives you personal tips on how to make it the garden that you always wanted. For those who love gardening, and love getting involved in bringing their gardens to the next level, a garden coach is a wise investment in time and money.

Here are the tips:

1. Foil pests by physically removing the majority of them. You can wash them off with a stream of plain water, brush them off, squish them between your fingers or get something to eat them. It does not matter to the plant how you do it. The bottom line is: Get the bugs off.

2. Fall vegetables go in now. Plant root crops and cabbage family plants as well as peas and spinach. Root crops are carrots, beets, turnips, radishes and all the different varieties of the above. Cabbage family plants are broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage both red and green and kale.

3. Dead head fuchsias and feed regularly. Follow the instructions on your fertilizer package. A good bloom fertilizer will keep them looking good through the summer.

4. If you have rocky soil, build walls. This old axiom goes for many different so-called problems in people's gardens. A renowned illustrator of children's books would catch mice that were invading her house, draw them and then release them where they would not do her any harm.

5. Plant ornamental grasses when it is too hot to plant anything else. They are quite hardy and with reasonable watering, they can withstand summer transplanting.

6. Write about a garden experience you think might be memorable. I am taking a memoir-writing workshop and it is amazing how many anecdotal stories I can come up with about the 30+ years I have been gardening.

7. Learn about plant propagation. There are so many different ways to reproduce a favorite plant. The varieties of seeds available through local nurseries and catalogs are enormous.

8. Plant summer annuals for fall color. You can get plants in bloom now that will continue until the rains knock them down.

9. Get on a garden tips e-mail list. You will receive garden tips, products to buy, stories and many resources. To get on my e-mail tips list send me an e-mail at jcmckinnon@earthlink.net.

10. Prune spring flowering spirea when it is finished blooming. This will stimulate new growth and get that pruning task out of the way.

Good gardening.

Jack McKinnon worked in the Sunset Magazine gardens for 12 years and is now a garden coach. He can be reached at (650) 879-3261 or by e-mail at jcmckinnon@earthlink.net