A Monthly Garden Guide for July
Here in the Pacific Northwest, it finally feels like summer and it finally is summer! Annual flowers are getting tall and beginning to bloom, shrubs are getting bushy, peppers and tomatoes are flowering, and the weeds, well, they're always going to be there! And that's ok. What a truly magical time to be alive and enjoying the garden (yours or your client's!).
If you're wondering what a professional gardener does in July, I'm here to fill you in on my do's and don'ts of July gardening in the Pacific Northwest.
Let's start with the do's:
Water and water often
Weed
Deadhead flowers
Cut flowers for bouquets and posies
Add compost
Fertilize perennials
Plant hot crops and quick crops
Edge grasses growing around garden beds
Weed pathways
Clean out bird baths and fountains
Do: Water and Water Often
Watering is an incredibly essential function of gardening in the Pacific Northwest. Why? Because, contrary to popular belief, rainy Washington (and Oregon and Idaho) is very dry and sunny throughout the summer. Without sufficient rain, watering the garden becomes an essential task throughout the summer.
Most plants need about one inch of water a week for survival. But what does that mean? "One inch of water" is a pretty confusing statement, so here's my general rules about watering:
Pots and planters get thoroughly soaked with water and you never let the soil completely dry out. Ensure water penetrates the entire pot until you see water draining out of the pot's bottom. Pots and planters dry out very quickly in the sun; therefore they must be watered more often and you can essentially ignore the "one inch a week" rule.
Watering raised beds is similar to pots and planters, but it's more difficult to see when a raised bed garden has been thoroughly watered. Dig your hand into the soil and see how far the water made it. You'll want water to seep at least 4-5 in (10 cm) deep. Wet soil is a darker color than dry soil and you'll soon know the difference after a couple of rounds of watering and looking. You can water a raised bed as often as it needs--likely every other day and sometimes daily when temperatures are hot.
For traditional garden beds in the ground, you can get away with watering every other day and sometimes every three days. The ground (in general) is a much larger mass of soil when compared to a pot or raised bed; therefore, the soil in traditional garden beds won't heat up or lose water (through plant uptake and evaporation) as quickly as potted gardens. Because of this, you shouldn't have to water more than every other day unless the temperatures are hot or you have a soil type that dries out quickly (typically sandy soils). Water so that the top 4-5 in (10 cm) are thoroughly soaked. Verify this using the same digging method described previously.
These are just general rules about watering, but I stand by them when making watering decisions both in my garden and in my clients'.
Do: Weed
Weeding the garden never truly stops here in the Pacific Northwest. If you're watering plants, weeds and weed seeds are also getting watered and growing. Weed the garden in the morning and evening when temperatures are cooler and you don't have to be in direct sunlight.
If you're a professional gardener who needs to maintain a client's garden, limit your exposure to direct sunlight, especially during heat waves. A few methods I use are:
Alter between weeding in sunny spots with shady spots every 15 minutes
Weed the sunniest part of the garden first and then cool off in the shade while weeding the remainder
Start earlier in the day and finish by 2 pm when temperatures rise
Wear a sun hat and sunshirt
Drink lots of water and take breaks often
Do: Deadhead Flowers
This time of year, flowers such as peonies and roses start looking haggard and require deadheading. Cut the spent flowers off and toss them in the compost. Deadheading does require a little knowledge about each plant you're deadheading, so do some research first. But in general, simply removing the spent flower will suffice.
Do: Cut Flowers for Bouquets and Posies
Who doesn't love fresh-cut flowers!!!? Actually, I have two clients who refuse to have fresh-cut flowers in their homes! But that story is for a different time. If you're pretty basic (like me) and can never have too many cut flowers in your home, now is the season! Cut away and cut those stems long.
Do: Add Compost
In the Pacific Northwest, you can add compost to the garden anytime the ground isn't frozen (and July is no exception). If there's a few spots you didn't get to in the spring, now's the time to top-dress and feed your soil. Aim to have 3-4 inches of compost covering your entire garden bed. If you don't have enough compost for that, any amount is better than none at all.
Do: Fertilize Perennials
One of the most forgotten summer garden tasks is fertilizing. Think about it: those roses and spireas and Japanese Maples are working really hard growing 8 to 9 months out of the year, yet they don't get the amount of attention annuals get. Do your perennials a favor and give them the nutrients they need to stay healthy, ward off pests and diseases, and keep growing.
Do: Plant Hot Crops and Quick Crops (and other plants too)
I have a confession: I transplanted zucchini and peppers only two days ago on July 5th! Yes, even professional gardeners get behind in their garden tasks. But I want to remind you that right now is the perfect time to plant hot crops and quick crops in the Pacific Northwest.
The first year I worked on an organic vegetable farm in Northern California, I was very much a novice about the planting schedule. I was amazed that the planting crew (which I was part of) planted lettuce, spinach, radishes, and turnips EVERY WEEK from April through October. My mind was blown. That's when I realized you can plant all spring and summer long! This is the only way a farm can provide vegetables throughout the season.
Another insider trick: zucchini and cucumbers are often planted 2-3 times throughout the growing season because older plants get powdery mildew and stop producing fruit. Planting multiple batches of these plants ensures season-long harvesting.
I'm not saying you have to start an organic vegetable farm and plant crops EVERY week, but you can take a page from a professional farmer's book and continue planting throughout the growing season.
July is also when lots of plants start going on sale. Both myself and my clients are suckers for sales; we can hardly ever pass up a good deal on a cool plant. My advice is to take advantage of plant sales and transplant immediately with LOTS of water. Just be aware that out-of-season bare roots, corms, tubers, and bulbs (like garlic or tulips) can be stored in a cool, dry place until the right time of year for planting.
Do: Edge Grasses Growing Around Garden Beds
There's something esthetically pleasing about edging grass around garden beds. When grass gets too tall or invades rock walls, a garden will look unkempt. I suggest edging around your garden so all grass is cut to the same height as the rest of the lawn. This may take some finessing and help from a partner, but you'll thank me when it's all over.
For instance, last week I was maintaining a client's garden and the lavender was gorgeous and big and spilled out into the lawn. The grass around and under the lavender had gotten long and I thought it made the rest of the garden look unkempt. I used a bucket to momentarily prop up the lavender (this is when you could use a friend to help you, but I only had a bucket) so I could weed whack the grass down to the same height as the rest of the lawn. Volla! A quick and aesthetically pleasing improvement.
Do: Weed Pathways
This is another task, similar to the previous one, that most people don't think about doing. What do all those Pinterest-worthy pictures of gardens have in common? The pathways don't have any weeds! Choose your weeding method of choice and go to town. Get every weed out of each crevice. Leave no pebble unturned. Make your pathways look like pathways again.
Do: Clean Out Bird Baths and Fountains
If you have a bird bath or fountain that reuses the same water, now is a good time to clean all the surfaces and change out the water. Birds get sick from contaminated water (just like humans) so you should ensure that the water provided is clean and safe.
And now for the don'ts:
Prune perennial flowers, shrubs, or trees
Mow frequently
Divide or transplant (unless plants are in the shade for most of the day)
Don't: Prune Perennial Flowers, Shrubs, or Trees
Other than deadheading or cutting flowers, the only pruning of perennial flowers, shrubs, and trees should be to remove dead, damaged, and diseased limbs. Pruning plants when temperatures are hot and when plants are growing can be extremely detrimental. Pruning in July can cause undue stress that may lead to mortality. It is best to err on the side of safety and prune later in the year, winter, or next spring. This rule is for nearly every plant in the PNW.
Don't: Mow Frequently
This isn't quite a fine gardening task, but since I mow a couple of lawns and my own, I'll include it here. Grass stops growing when the rain stops raining (unless you irrigate). You'll notice that the grass is growing slower and it may start browning and getting crunchy. These are all signs that the grass is going into dormancy and won't start growing or greening up until the rainy season.
If you feel compelled to mow the grass for evenness or to whack down all the catsear and dandelions, make sure you mow at a higher level (I like a level 4) and decrease mowing to every other week and then less as needed. If you mow too low or scalp grass this time of year, you may end up killing it.
Don't: Divide or Transplant (unless plants in the shade for most of the day)
Ok, so I know I said that July is a great month for planting hot crops and plants you get on sale, but you should wait to divide and transplant the plants you already have in the ground. I'm not saying these tasks shouldn't be done at all, but they should wait to be done at another time of year. Dividing and transplanting adds stress to the plant and it's just safer to wait. If you do decide you must divide or transplant, make sure to water more frequently.
And so there you have it; ten dos and three don'ts for July gardening. Oh! I just remembered one last thing! Rember to harvest vegetables, smile at flowers, and enjoy what you've created--it's the summer after all.
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