August Garden Chores

Time to start seeds for your fall garden!

August is a month that many gardeners in the interior areas of Southern California just wait out, because many of their gardens are just burnt up by the consistently high temperatures. However, there are some gardening activities that can go on, and a few that must: watering, pest control, and harvesting.

Watering: Drip irrigation is probably the most efficient method. Sprinklers waste water and do not necessarily get water to the root zone where it is needed. Placing a hose with just a trickle of water at the base of plants for a long period of time is good for getting the water to where it is needed, but can take all day if you have a large garden, and not many hoses.

Pest control: Putting clear plastic over empty garden beds is a tool for getting rid of some soil borne diseases, insect pest eggs, and nematodes. Cover the soil with plastic, mound soil over the edges to trap in the heat generated by the sun shining on and through the plastic, and leave it in place for a month or more. Insect pests are in full force this month, so we spray with organic pesticides and repellents . If you are going to use a spray on your plants, spray very early in the morning or in the evening to minimize the risk of the spray burning the leaves.

Harvesting: We don't consider this garden task a chore, but rather a reward for the work put in over the growing season. There are few things in gardening more rewarding than to harvest dinner minutes before it is time to prepare it.Right now we're bringing in plenty of egg plant, bell peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and of course, zucchini.

We can also plant. In our zone 9 garden, any summer vegetable can still be planted, although sometimes we  may wait until September to plant fall crops. If you have time, energy, and space, you can of course do both.

We are planting corn this month as a corn maze to be enjoyed in the fall. We also will be planting pole beans, bush beans, tomatoes, okra, squash, and heat-tolerant greens. Any heat-loving variety of vegetable will do well. One thing to keep in mind: as the days get shorter and cooler, the time to maturity of the summer crops will increase. Some of the corn we are planting is listed as 80-90 days to  maturity, so instead of harvesting our ears in mid-November, we may have to wait until Thanksgiving Dinner! (Worth the wait.)

Here's the layout for our corn maze. Also new to the front yard are birdhouse and luffa gourds (on the fence), pumpkins (under and behind the orange tree), and a tree rose (far right) .

If you want to grow your own transplants for fall crops, August is the month to start them in flats, soil blocks, or pots. We'll be starting cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi and more. They'll be ready to set out in September.

One advantage that we have enjoyed with a fall garden is that there are fewer pests in the cold weather. Also, the brassicas (cabbage family) tend to taste better after a light frost. Win, win.

A salad garden is wonderful in the fall.  A four foot square bed is more than you needs to grow your own lettuce and greens for salads. The variety you can grow from seed is so much more than you can buy as transplants in the nurseries. Start your seeds soon.  If we can do it, so can you. Give it a try!