JULY Organic Gardening

JULY Organic Gardening
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This year, the weather has been much cooler for much longer than
usual in the Carolina Piedmont. I was still picking snow peas and
harvesting lettuce and cabbage past the middle of June. Some folks
are seeing slow growth in peppers and eggplants, which comes as no
surprise. On the other hand, folks are already harvesting squash and
cukes they put in around April 15.

Organic gardeners (and good gardeners of all philosophies)
instinctively understand the deep value both of lovingly tended
gardens and wild places. Now, if only the dandelions weren't so eager
to grow, and the chiggers so eager to bite...

Water, Water, Everywhere. This month's big job is watering. Water
containers daily, vegetable gardens and first season landscape plants
two times a week, and everything else about once a week.

Harvest Time. Harvest herbs and veggies on a regular basis. Don't let
your zucchini reach cetacean proportions—pick it before you need a
harpoon to deal with Moby Zuke. Also, harvest your Irish potatoes
when the tops begin to brown and die back.

Start Fall Plantings. Start fall vegetables, including broccoli,
cabbage, collards, kale, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. This is
also a good time to start biennials and perennials from seed, such as
foxglove and hollyhock, for planting out this fall.

Leave Space For Fall Garden Crops. Instead of planting more warm
season crops every time a bed of bush beans gets past its prime, I
often pick a section to solarize. I also plant cover crops such as
buckwheat or black-eyed peas that I dig in before planting my fall
crop.

Tomato Tip. If need be, cut up to a third off your tomatoes to keep
them from overwhelming their posts or cages. Leave some leaf to
protect against sunburn.

Taking Cutings. Take semi-hardwood cuttings of roses, azalea,
camellia, holly and other shrubs this month. Select new green-brown
stems that "crack" when you snap them. If this is new for you, follow
a good guide such as Lewis Hill's "Secrets of Plant Propagation".

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