By Jennifer Fairfield, owner Garden Mill
(Publisher’s note: This is the third and final part of this column. Part 2 published yesterday.)
In the flower garden:
Much like in the veggie garden, keeping insects under control gets to be more of a challenge as we move into July.
In my flower gardens, I’m seeing aphids on my asters, sawfly larva on my hardy hibiscus, and Japanese beetles on everything. Insecticidal soap has been working well on the aphids and sawfly larva, but the best way to deal with Japanese beetles is to simply pluck them off the plants and drop them into a bucket of soapy water.
The soap coats their wings, making it impossible for them to get out of the water, and they eventually drown. The best time of day to do this is in the afternoon, when it has warmed up, as that is when they are at their most active, though do it whenever you can (I make it a morning ritual, before I leave for the store).
Getting as many as you see on a daily basis will help keep them under control. If you wait too long, the few you have will suddenly turn into a mob, as they will signal their friends when they have found something they like in your gardens.
If you are using insecticides of any kind, be aware of when to apply them. Different insects are active at different times of day, and some pesticides work best if sprayed directly on the pest. Also, be aware of bee and butterfly activity in your flowers, and don’t spray any insecticides when you see them around, or at least do targeted spraying, instead of broadcast spraying.
Always read labels completely and follow instructions carefully. Regardless of whether you use organic or non-organic products, they are poisons, and can be harmful to bees and butterflies, as well as you, if not used properly.
Additional pests I have been getting a lot of questions about controlling lately are rabbits and deer. They can do an enormous amount of damage in very little time, and are hard to control, because they are often out when you’re not. I cannot recommend Epic’s Deer Scram and Rabbit Scram enough for the control of these creatures. I have used both in my gardens for a number of years now, with great results.
Be sure to fertilize roses throughout the month, but stop fertilizing at the end of the month to allow the new growth to harden off before winter. Also remove diseased leaves immediately, and pick up any that have fallen.
Aphids and mites can be major rose pests that can cause serious damage if not kept under control. Careful spraying when these pests are spotted is generally all that is necessary. These tasks, along with regular fungicide spraying will help keep your roses healthy.
As in your vegetable garden, keep weeds under control in the flower garden, so they don’t compete with your flowers for moisture and nutrients.
Cut back perennials that have finished blooming.
To keep container annuals blooming all season long, be sure to fertilize them regularly. With frequent watering, fertilizer tends to get flushed out of the container, so regular feedings are a must. Also, don’t forget to deadhead. By removing dead flowers, you encourage the growth of new ones throughout the season.
Keep an eye on watering needs for all your plants. It’s easy to get complacent with all the rain we’ve had. Before you know it, the rain will have stopped and the sun will be beating down and drying everything out again. Even if it continues to rain, pay attention to containers that might be under porch eaves or otherwise might not be getting the benefit of all the rain.
Once Mother Nature does turn off the faucet, keep an eye on any trees and shrubs you have planted this year (and really any that were planted in the last two to three years). It takes a while for their roots to become efficient at taking up water from the soil, so making sure that they are well watered is essential to ensuring their success.
Tree watering bags and donuts can be life-savers (literally for your trees, and figuratively for you) during extended dry periods like we had in the early part of June. You only have to fill them up once or twice per week, and they slowly water your trees for you.
Do not apply fertilizer to trees or shrubs after the 4th of July, in order to avoid a flush of new growth late in the summer that doesn’t have time to harden before winter.
Finish up pruning of trees and shrubs this month or early next. Pruning too late in the season can also encourage new growth that will not have time to harden off before winter sets in.
When you’re out working in your gardens and yard, keep an eye out for ground-nesting wasps and yellow jackets. They don’t take well to having their homes stepped on, sat on (as I almost did the other day), or run over with lawn equipment, and will let you know in a hurry. I am generally a big proponent of the live-and-let-live approach to these creatures, but if they are in areas where they pose potential harm, especially to someone who is allergic, eliminating them may be necessary – and can be done relatively easily, without chemicals.
Go out at night (when they have all returned to the nest) and cover the entrance hole to the nest with a clear glass bowl. Dig the rim of the bowl down into the soil around the hole, so that there is no gap between it and the soil where the wasps can escape. The wasps will not try to dig a new exit hole (which they will do if you simply fill the hole in with soil), because they will be able to see the sky, and don’t understand that they can’t actually get out.
They will eventually die in the nest, and you can remove the bowl – just keep an eye on it to make sure you haven’t seen any activity for a couple of days before you remove the bowl.
Lawn:
When mowing this summer, leave your grass between 3 and 4 inches tall, and only cut off the top third of the blades at each mowing. Keeping your grass a little higher will help it retain moisture during the hot, dry summer we usually have, and will help suppress weeds. This is not an easy task to keep up with when it’s as rainy as it’s been, especially because it’s much better for your grass not to mow when it’s wet. Mowing when the grass and ground are wet can be bad for your lawn in two ways. The first way you damage your lawn by mowing when it’s wet is that the weight of you and your equipment can compact the soil, making it difficult for the roots to get the air they need to survive.
The second issue is that leaving clumps of wet cut grass on your lawn encourages fungal diseases. Wait to mow until the grass has had a chance to dry out, whenever possible.
The larva of those nasty Japanese beetles we’ve been talking about are the grubs that will be eating your grass roots later in the season, causing patches of brown, dead grass that, unlike grass that is dormant, won’t be growing back. If you are seeing a lot of adult beetles now and can’t keep them under control (a next-to impossible task), the best thing you can do is to control the larva that will be eating your grass roots later this month.
Milky spore is a long-term control option that is actually a bacterial disease that kills the grubs when they ingest it. It can be effective for many years, but also takes a few years to kill off all of the grubs, so don’t expect immediate results.
For the Birds:
Keep your birdbaths full and consider putting out additional baths or even filling things like overturned trash can lids or large saucers with water for them. The dry conditions we generally have in summer are as difficult on birds as on our gardens, and they are going to be looking for water wherever they can find it.
One place they may try to relieve their thirst is in your garden – by biting into and sucking out the juice of your crops. Making sure they have a consistent source of water may save your harvest. Just be sure to dump the water and refill it every day, to discourage mosquitoes from laying eggs. Another way to control mosquitoes in bird baths is to install a water wiggler or birdbath dripper. Constant movement of the water makes for inhospitable conditions for mosquitoes to lay their eggs.
Keep hummingbird feeders cleaned out and filled. Sugar water left out in the heat for a number of days can breed bacteria that is harmful to the beautiful birds visiting your feeders, so be sure to clean them out every few days.
