August Lawn & Garden Checklist

It’s been a hot and dry summer but as long as you’ve been consistent with watering and weeding, you probably have a beautiful, lush lawn & garden to show for your hard work. Here’s how to keep it looking good.

Garden

  • Enjoy the fruits of your labor.  Remember to pick plants clean of produce and do not allow fruits and vegetables to drop and decompose on the ground.
  • Pull plants and dispose of as they finish producing.
  • For fall gardeners, plant fall radishes, beets, broccoli and cauliflower this month for production before hard freezes.

Lawn

  • When mowing, leave the blades taller at around 3-3.5”.  This will provide better insulation and better water usage.  Roots also grow taller in relation to the height of the grass blade.
  • Continue to water your lawn.  Lawns should receive 1-1.5” of water per week.
  • Towards the end of the month going into September consider applying a fertilizer.  Do not fertilize if not actively growing.  If you want to apply a weed killer at the same time, apply Fertilome Weed Free Zone.
  • For lawns with no weeds apply Fertilome Classic Lawn Food.

Perennials, trees and shrubs

  • There are many perennials and shrubs that should be deadheaded at this time (cutting out the dead and faded blooms). Watch for daylilies, spirea, and garden phlox to finish flowering.
  • Some plants will start to go into dormancy.  These should be trimmed down when completely brown.
  • Spider mites are often a problem in evergreens.  If you have spider mites, you should be spraying with Bonide Systemic Insect Control.