July Organic Gardening

On the west coast the first heirloom tomatoes make it to market in July. This is the time for enjoying the fruits of your labor -- run out to the garden for a few basil leaves, serve just-picked green beans alongside almost everything, and fill every vase in the house with sunflowers.

Savor the season!

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Don't Forget To Deadhead. Continue to deadhead flowering perennials, and cut back shaggy growth on catmint, alyssum, lobelia, and anything else that's looking tired. It'll renew itself in time for another bloom in fall.

Revive Your Plants At The Roots. Water at the root zone to prevent evaporation. In particular, avoid spraying the leaves of vegetables like tomatoes, cucumber, and squash, which are vulnerable to powdery mildew.

Beautiful Bulbs. Allow summer-flowering bulbs to keep their green foliage. A meticulous gardener at a local winery braids the leaves of each bulb when the flowers die back. Is that taking it too far? It's your garden; you decide.

Time To Divide The Irises. Just cut off the healthy rhizomes with leaves attached, throw away the center part that is not producing leaves, and re-plant.

Healthy Harvest. Harvest everything 2 to 3 times a week. Dunk the vegetables in cool water soon after harvest, not just to clean them but also to quickly lower their temperature and hydrate them to maintain freshness. Potatoes planted in March are probably ready to be harvested now. Just wait until the tops have bloomed, then dig. Plant potatoes in loose, rich soil and just use your hands to brush the dirt aside and pull out the goods. To cellar potatoes for later, layer them in a box of shredded paper or straw and store in a cool, dark cellar or garage.
The local food bank will appreciate excess produce.

Tomato Tip. Tie fruiting tomato stems to stakes or confine them within cages. Plants of vigorous indeterminate varieties do well in cages made of five-foot tall concrete-reinforcing wire. To trigger ripening and improve flavor, stop or minimize water to the plants that have set fruit by mid-month.

Garlic Advice. It is best to stop watering garlic plants a few weeks before harvest. They are usually ready to harvest when they develop a few brown leaves. Pull one up or gently dig under a plant and harvest them all if the heads are the right size. Varieties ripen at different times but all the plants of one variety usually ripen together.

Seed Starting. Unless there is a reliable supplier of fall or winter vegetable transplants, now is the time to start them from seed. They need summer sowing to get large enough to withstand the rigors of winter. Cabbages, Brussels sprouts, spring leeks, and hardy greens like kale, mustard, and chard can be started now.

Lawn Care. As lawns begin to brown, conserve water by learning to appreciate the seasonal variations of grass as it enters its summer dormancy. To keep it green, water it deeply two or three times a week.

Continue with Compost. Keep compost moist during the dry season.