What to do in the Garden in August

Planning

•    Optimal time for establishing a new lawn is August through mid-September.

Link to article on lawn establishment

•    Dampwood termites begin flying late this month. Make sure your home is free of wet wood or places where wood and soil are in contact.

Maintenance and Clean Up

•    Make compost of lawn clippings and garden plants that are ready to be recycled.  If lawn has been treated with herbicide, including "weed-and-feed" products, don't use clippings near plants that could be damaged by those products. Be aware that composting diseased plants or anything that has gone to seed could spread those diseases or seeds unless you are using the "hot compost" method or thoroughly covering the compost with at least a few inches of soil and/or mulch.

•    Fertilize cucumbers, summer squash, and broccoli to maintain production while you continue harvesting.



•    Clean and fertilize strawberry beds.



•    Use mulch to protect ornamentals and garden plants from hot weather damage. If needed, provide temporary shade, especially for recent plantings.



•    Camellias need deep watering to develop flower buds for next spring.



•    Prune raspberries, boysenberries, and other caneberries after harvest. Check raspberries for holes made by crown borers, near the soil line, at base of plant. Remove infested wood before adults emerge (approximately mid-August).



Link to article on growing Raspberries

•    Prune out dead fruiting canes in trailing blackberry and train new primocanes prior to end of month. Link to article on growing Blackberries





•    Prune cherry trees before fall rains begin to allow callusing in dry weather. This will minimize the spread of bacterial canker.





Planting/Propagation

•    Mid-summer planting of peas (use enation-virus-resistant varieties)

•    Plant winter kale, Brussels sprouts, turnips, parsnips, parsley, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, and Chinese cabbage.


•    Plant winter cover crops in vacant space in the vegetable garden



Pest Monitoring and Management

•    Remove cankered limbs from fruit and nut trees for control of diseases such as apple anthracnose and bacterial canker of stone fruit. Sterilize tools before each new cut.



•    Check apple maggot traps; spray tree if needed.



•    Control yellowjackets and wasps with traps and lures only as necessary. Keep in mind they are beneficial insects and help control pest insects in the home garden.



•    First week: Only if necessary, spray for walnut husk fly.



•    First week: Only if necessary, second spray for peach tree borer and/or peach twig borer.



•    First week: Only if necessary, second spray of filbert trees for filbertworm.



•    Check for root weevils in ornamental shrubs and flowers; (Link) 

•    Check for codling moth (Link) and spider mite (Link) in apple trees

•    Check for scale insects in camellias, holly and maples. (Link) Treat only as necessary.



•    Watch for corn earworm on early corn. Treat only as needed.



•    For mite control on ornamentals and most vegetables, hose off foliage, spray with approved miticide only if necessary.



•    Check leafy vegetables for caterpillars. Pick off caterpillars as they appear. Use Bt-k, if necessary.



•    Continue monitoring peaches, plums, prunes, figs, fall-bearing raspberries and strawberries, and other plants that produce soft fruits and berries for Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD).  If SWD are present, use an integrated and least toxic approach to manage the pests.  Learn how to monitor for SWD flies and larval infestations in fruit.



Sustainable gardening

The Oregon State University Extension Service encourages sustainable gardening practices.

Preventive pest management is emphasized over reactive pest control. Identify and monitor problems before acting and opt for the least toxic approach that will remedy the problem. The conservation of biological control agents (predators, parasitoids) should be favored over chemical controls.

Use chemical controls only when necessary and only after thoroughly reading the pesticide label. First consider cultural, then physical and biological controls. Choose the least-toxic options (insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils, botanical insecticides, and organic pesticides).  Always research your pest to find the optimal ways of controlling them.  Call the Master Gardener hotline if you'd like some help getting started.  541-766-6750.