July is one of the most potentially productive months in the garden.
Don’t let this month go to waste – Check out our July Gardening Tips
Come July you will find some plants are in full bloom and sprouting, whereas some are ready to be pruned and planted.
So what is the secret?
Consider the four W’s – weeding, watering, watching and waiting. You can never go wrong with any of your plants, vegetables or flowers if you take these four W’s into consideration.
Remember to ensure that you consider safety first, for yourself primarily, and then for your garden. As such you should avoid pesticides and anything that can affect your health negatively.
A garden should be a healthy meditative space.
Let’s dive into our July gardening tips!
Tip 1 – Keep all beds weeded and tidy to encourage growth
Weeding is of the essence in July, which is why this is one of our first July gardening tips.
If not, your plants will suffocate, and unwanted guests can rob your garden of water and nutrients. A weed-free garden will look better and create better products.
Once you have weeded, compost the weeds. It takes a hot compost pile to kill the weed seed, which is ideal. Most home compost piles don’t achieve said temperatures.
For some quick wins check the video below:
Tip 2 – Water your plants in July depending on the type
Another of our tips relates to watering your precious plants. Water all trees and shrubs every two weeks from the very base.
The roots will reach the moisture and create a strong structure and a healthy plant.
Fruits and veg should be watered once a week. Be aware of overhead sprinklers as they can encourage disease.
The trick is to:
Water like a rain cloud. You need to spray the area for over a minute. Otherwise, it is unlikely that the water has gone into the soil and hasn’t penetrated the roots.
In the event that you are going on vacation, invest in containers and consider arrangements for interior plants.
Keep in mind that you should protect the plants from the heat. Otherwise, they might get stressed and attract bugs and diseases.
It’s easier and cheaper to protect the plants than manage a plant in need of rescue.
Tip 3 – Use fertilizer and water your lawn depending on it’s thirst
Keep on mowing that lawn!
It should be in full thick bloom if you have watered it appropriately. July is the final month for summer fertilization, so take advantage of this time to establish a beautiful and green lawn.
If it looks a little dry, don’t be afraid to give it some love and water!
Tip 4 – Prune your tomatoes and continue taking care of your veggies
Every list of July gardening tips should include a tomato special.
Pay special attention to tomatoes, tie them to their canes and pinch out the side shoots if necessary. Tomatoes are easy to grow and produce quickly. Pruning tomatoes will allow your product to grow bigger, healthier and tastier.
And that is the name of the game right?
Even though most gardeners only prune flowers, tomatoes are necessary to prune as well. It’s a straightforward task, all you need is a sharp hand pruner.
Don’t forget the golden rule….
Stake or cage tomato plants!
It will help them grow more healthily and prevent them from rotting on the ground. This is an easy way to promote growth.
Remember to wear gloves and a long-sleeved shirt when working on your precious plants.
I can’t stress this enough:
When it comes to fruit and vegetables, continue watering and feeding them to avoid issues. The very last planting of beans and carrots can be done in July. You can continue sowing salad, autumn crop peas, turnips, and spring cabbages.
Your strawberries should be ripening, and ready to collect at this point. Keep an eye on fruit such as cherries, peaches, raspberries, and plums as they will start to ripen.
Tip 5 – Avoid mildew by watering in daytime
This is one of my favorite tips because mildew has, or will, affect almost everything in a garden at some point.
Mildew is a problem for all novice and expert gardeners out there. A way to avoid this is by watering in the daytime and keeping leaves dry when doing so. Another way is to apply fungicides early and often.
It really is that simple.
This standard plant disease can become an infestation very quickly. It can affect flowers, herbs, fruits, and even weeds.
It’s an airborne disease that can spread from the plant to plant by insects. It thrives in the hot, humid and wet weather and covers at the blink of an eye.
By watering plants in the daytime, the sun and heat will dry them out before nightfall. Water your plants from bottom, this keeps the leaves dry.
Tip 6 – Extend the blooming period for flowers by deadheading them
A way to extend summer vibes for as long as possible is to snip off spent flower blooms as soon as the bloom is over. It’s called deadheading and can extend the life cycle of a flower during month of July.
It’s best to deadhead a flower as soon as it has died. Lilacs, for example, should be removed upon blooming. Otherwise, you risk next years blooms.
This does not work for all flowers, so look it up before you try.
Tip 7 – Harvest your garlic ASAP!
One of the most deliberately delicious July gardening tips goes out to the garlic lovers out there!
Garlic is ready for harvest in the first half of the month of July. Cure your bulbs and choose which ones to save for seed and store the rest. As such you will be able to enjoy fresh garlic next year as well!
Other legumes that you will be able to harvest are peas, broccoli, and lettuce. Replace these July greens with greens to harvest in fall.
Tip 8 – Give your plants a mid-season fertilization for a little boost
Get your hands on slow-release fertilizer to put into the soil.
This works for both plants and vegetables. You can also add compost or cow manure to rhubarb and asparagus beds.
This is one of the less fun tips, but it’s worth it to see your garden grow!
It is possible and encouraged to bring houseplants outdoors for a little summer vacation. Fertilize houseplants that spend some time outdoors.
You only need to do this every month, but it will give them a beautiful summer glow.
So there we are – 8 hot gardening tips for July – enjoy!
Want to learn more about gardening in the summer? You can find further information here:
Vegetables And Herbs To Plant In July – The Spruce
Steve is a one time gardening hater turned into gardening obsessive. This was all thanks to going to University where a two year stint spent transforming the previously horrific garden of the student house he lived in left him addicted to all things horticultural! Now with a new house in tow and due to some fortunate circumstances he is free to test out a whole host of gardening equipment. Find out more about Steve or drop him an email at firstname.lastname@example.org.