August in the garden

August in the gardenis the warmest month of the year, although the nights are already starting to get chilly. This month we are still enjoying the fruits of summer, but we also need to take care of the plants where the harvest has already been completed. Strawberries require special care, we prune cherry and cherry trees. Get to know all the most importantgardening jobs in Augustand find out what and how to do in the garden this month. Here is thegardening calendar for August !

August in the garden is the time of harvesting fruit for preserves and cutting cherries and cherries

August in the orchard

• In August, we are continuing the summer cutting of fruit trees - cherries, apple trees, pears and peaches. In the first days of August, we prune the apple trees, the fruit of which ripens in late August or early September. During pruning, strong annual growths that block the light from reaching the fruit in the middle of the tree's crown are removed or shortened. This will make the apples more beautiful. The lightening cutting of cherries and cherries is carried out after the harvest, usually in the second half of August. Cut thin twigs that thicken the tree crowns too much.
• After harvesting the fruit, we also cut the plum. In order to loosen and reduce the crowns, cut out individual branches completely or shorten them behind an appropriately directed branch.
• To reduce the risk of infection, apply Funaben Plus 03 PA, garden ointment or emulsion paint with Topsin M 500 SC fungicide to cut wounds.

• Immediately after the harvest, we X-ray the currant bushes so that the light reaches the entire bush. The removed old shoots will soon be replaced with new ones. Trim the gooseberries in a similar way.
• After harvesting traditional (not repeated fruiting) raspberries, remove all shoots that have been bearing fruit in the current year. It is also worth removing the excess shoots that are to bear fruit next year.
• If necessary, we can cut the walnut at the end of the month.
• Are you planning to plant fruit trees and shrubs in the fall? It is worth sowing plants for green manure (e.g. phacelia) in August. This will enrich the soil with organic substances and improve the soil structure. Thanks to this, preparing the soil for the orchard will be much easier.

• In the middle of the month, it is worth putting corrugated or sticky bands on tree trunks, they will allow you to catch the caterpillars of the plum fruit. In September, we will take off the bands and destroy them together with the pests.
• After harvesting strawberries, you need to properly care for these plants, if you want to enjoy abundant crops next year. After harvesting strawberries, first of all, all the shoots need to be weeded and trimmed to a height of approx. 5 cm. It is also worth scattering the last dose of fertilizers this year and apply spraying if the plants were sick.
• Strawberries should be planted in a new position every 3 or 4 years. It may be a place where we previously grew marigolds, onion vegetables, mustard or legumes. However, you should not choose a place where you have previously grown tomatoes. We prepare the strawberry carriage one week in advance. We dig the soil and weed it. Just before planting, it is worth immersing strawberry roots in water for 30 minutes, and watering the plants abundantly after planting. Strawberries planted in early August will take root and form flower buds this season.

August in the vegetable garden

• August in the vegetable garden is primarily a period of harvesting many vegetables, min. tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumber, squash or courgette, as well as green beans, broccoli, cauliflower and early varieties of cabbage and carrots.
• Yellowing of potato leaves is a signal that the potatoes are ripe for harvesting. Take them out of the ground with a pitchfork or a hoe and let them dry well.
• This month, finish harvesting herbs such as thyme and sage as their stems take time to prepare for the onset of winter. After drying, the herbs should be stored in well-closed vessels. After harvesting, remove all herb residues from the ground and burn them to avoid disease and pest attacks.
• In August, we can grow aftercrop vegetables for the autumn harvest. At the beginning of the month, sow vegetables such as: spinach, butter lettuce, endive, fennel, Chinese cabbage, radish and turnips. A little later, in the middle of the month, we sow the lamb's lettuce and sorrel seeds.
• At the beginning of August, we also plant seedlings of vegetables grown for the autumn harvest. From the seedbed, we transfer seedlings of early varieties of butter and crispy lettuce, kohlrabi, kale or fennel to the beds.
• Until August 20, it is advisable to fetch tomato, pepper and pumpkin shoots. In the case of tomatoes, only the high-growing varieties are topped. This procedure consists in breaking the plant growth cone above the last flowering cluster, leaving 2 leaves above it. We also remove the side shoots and lower leaves of the tomato. We perform these treatments in dry, rainless weather. Topping out helps direct the power of the plant to fruit development.
• Brussels sprouts should also be advertised. The best time to top Brussels sprouts is late August or early September. This procedure consists in removing the top bud of the plant. This allows the Brussels sprouts to mature more evenly. Topping is done when the heads have formed in the axils of most leaves, and the heads in the lower part are already 1.5-2 cm in diameter.
• As early as in the spring, successive generations of carrot leaf beetle may have appeared in the vegetable garden, but the greatest damage is caused by the larvae of the summer generation, damaging the outer parts of carrot storage roots. We will see root damage in September and October, when the larvae begin to bite into the carrot roots. In order to determine whether carrot leavage is a real threat, it is necessary to determine its number by using yellow-orange sticky plates. If we notice numerous pests on the plate, spraying with the Bioczos BR biopreparation should help. However, it is best to prevent the occurrence of this pest by cultivating carrots with other vegetables or speeding up its harvest so that the larvae do not have time to bite into the roots.

August in the ornamental garden

• In August we can start transplanting coniferous trees and shrubs that have already finished their growth phase. We feed the transplanted plants with fertilizer for conifers. It is also worth using a mycorrhizal vaccine for conifers, which will facilitate the adoption of plants in a new place.

• August and September is the best period for the propagation of conifers through cuttings. Young one-year-old shoots will be best rooted.
• The planting of spring flowering bulbs begins in the second half of August. We plant min. tulips, hyacinths and lilies. We plant bulbs in advance, such as fall winter crocus and autumn crocuses, which will bloom this fall - about 2 months after planting.

• In order for the lavender to spread well and maintain a compact habit, shorten its stems to half the length. This lavender pruning needs to be done every year.
• Regularly prune vigorously developing aquatic plants. Thanks to this, we will maintain a constant oxygen content in the water and we will ensure that the pond or pond is kept clean.
• We cut hedges. However, they should be formed very carefully.It is especially important to trim thuja hedges - if we do not trim these plants from the very young age, in the future they will be devoid of branches in the lower part. From the conifers, in the second half of August (after the growth has stopped), for the last time we also trim the fir trees, cypresses, yews, junipers and larches. This month we are also doing the last hedge cut of trees and shrubs that shed their leaves for the winter.
• Until the end of the month, we can collect semi-woody cuttings from deciduous trees and shrubs.
• It's a good time to split perennials. Most of the flowering plants can now be divided and replanted, giving them enough time to take root before the fall.
• Plant seedlings of biennial plants obtained from seeds sown in the seedbed in June. This applies, inter alia, to pansies, lakes, daisies and a bearded carnation. Let us remember, however, that we do not overdo the garden mullein, mullein and garden bells, whose pile root system does not tolerate this procedure well.It was best to sow them in June or July immediately in a permanent place.
• The end of August is the perfect time to plant peonies. Also, replanting these plants during this period does not adversely affect the flowering of the following year, and the plants will take root well in the new place before winter. Remember to rejuvenate these plants and change their place after 5-6 years in the same position.
• Fall asters should be looked after. If they are attacked by powdery mildew, use sulfur preparations or fungicides.
• In humid and warm weather, pine rash may occur. This disease is manifested by yellowing and falling pine needles. In this case, spray the plants with fungicides every ten days until the end of August. If we do not want to use chemicals, the Biosept Active biopreparation will be useful. We should also remember to remove fallen needles and burn them. When watering plants, do not sprinkle them, but only water them directly onto the soil.
• On the other hand, larch aphids from the Echinacea family may appear. Then we will observe growths on the plants, resembling cones, the so-called galls. The galls must be removed before they open.

Flowers in the house, balconies and terraces

• As a result of watering the soil in balcony boxes and containers becomes compact and poorly permeable, we loosen its top layer with small rakes or forks. This should be done carefully so as not to damage the shallower roots of the plants.
• Dust often settles on the leaves of plants growing under rain covers. To get rid of it, gently sprinkle the plants with water, and if they do not like sprinkling, the dust on the leaves should be blown away or gently cleaned with a soft-bristled brush.
• Trim too bulky flower shoots on balconies and terraces, so that the plants will be able to bloom again more luxuriantly.
• August is a good time to grow geraniums. We store the obtained seedlings in pots until May of the following year, when it will be possible to put them outside.

Lawn in August

• If you want to start a lawn from sowing, now is the right time to do it. Before sowing, the soil should be dug up and leveled with a rake. We write more about this in the article When to start a sowing lawn? Autumn better than spring!
• Let's not forget about mowing the lawn in summer. If at the end of summer it is very dry - mow a little higher and water abundantly.
• We finish fertilizing the lawn with nitrogen fertilizers. Further fertilization at a later date may contribute to a worse wintering of the sod and, consequently, make it difficult to regenerate in the spring. This month, however, autumn fertilizers that do not contain nitrogen can be sown on the grass, but are rich in other ingredients that help prepare the lawn for winter.

How to plan work in the garden?

If you want to prepare as best as possible for gardening work for a given month and be sure that you will never miss anything important that needs to be done in the garden again, use the resourceful gardener's planner calendar book. It is a practical gardening guide with a gardening calendar for the whole year and a place for your own notes. More information in the description on our store's website: -)

The text was prepared on the basis of Moje Ogród, Delta, Warsaw 1993, pp. 492-501, and articles published in Moje Piękna Ogród No. 8/99 and Działkowiec, No. 8/2003.