by Gary Crispell, EMGV
Alright, y’all. It’s July. This is the Piedmont of North Carolina. ‘Nuff said. Except … we’re gardeners and we must garden! Heat? Humidity? It’s all just more stuff to keep our horticultural minds busy. Does a fungus love heat and humidity? Yes it does. Does your water bill go through the roof trying to keep stuff alive just so it can drown in the next thunderstorm? Probably. Can you keep up with the aphid, spider mite and lacebug outbreaks? Hopefully!
But wait. Remember the 70-degree days we enjoyed in February? Can’t get that in New Hampshire or New York or Nebraska or North Dakota, or a whole host of other states. Then think ahead to October. Will we worry about snow then? Will our growing season have ended? Nope! Sure it’s hot and humid now, but we can escape to the sea for a breeze or to the mountains for some cooler temps. Yessirree, give me North Carolina every time, thank you very much. Now let’s go out in the yard and be grateful.
Lawn Care
Fertilize warm season grasses (Bermuda, Zoysia and St. Augustine) if you haven’t already. When mowing these lawns remove one-third of the growth. Change directions with each mowing to strengthen root systems and expose different side of the blades to sunlight.
Fertilizing
Continue side-dressing your vegetable garden plants. July is the last time to fertilize landscape plants until next year.
This is an excellent time to take soil samples especially from your lawn. Sample boxes and instructions can be obtained from the extension office. It is a FREE service until November.
Planting
Veggies that can still be planted include Brussels sprouts, collards, beans, carrots, tomatoes and pumpkins.
A young Brussels sprout plant, ‘Long Island Improved,’ one of three varieties that perform satisfactorily in N.C. The others are Jade Cross E Hybrid and Royal Marvel. About 85 to 95 days are required from field seeding or transplanting to maturity.
Get ready for the fall garden by starting broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower plants to be transplanted in mid-August.
July is also a good time to transplant overgrown houseplants.
Pruning
– “Bleeder” trees like maple, dogwood, birch and elm can be pruned this
month.
– Overgrown hedges can be pruned.
– Coniferous evergreens (they make cones with seeds in them) can be pruned.
– Raspberry and blackberry fruiting canes can be cut to the ground following harvest.
– Rhododendrons, azaleas (I know that’s redundant) and blueberries can have the dieback removed.
– Keep garden mums pinched until mid-month.
– Remove faded blooms on perennials to encourage a second blooming.
Spraying
Insects to be watchful for include bag worms, leaf miners, aphids, spider mites and lace bugs. Oh, yeah. Japanese beetles, duh. Watch tomatoes for signs of blight and spray as necessary. Continue with rose program. Also continue fungicide program for bunch grapes and fruit trees.
Vegetable pests to watch for: cucumber beetle (cucumber, ironically enough), flea beetle (tomato, eggplant and beans) and aphids (everything).
Only use pesticides when necessary and ALWAYS follow the label instructions.
There’s not too many extra things to do this month unless you want to build cold frames and greenhouses to be ready for next winter. I recommend you kick back on the deck in the evening with a cool beverage and enjoy summer in this goodly state.
Further Reading
Browse, or search, Horticultural information leaflets from NC State Extension: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/catalog/series/73/
Learn more about Brussel sprouts – https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/brussels-sprouts
Photo credit: Downtowngal, no changes made: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Young_brussels_sprouts_plant.jpg
