| Visit
the horticultural exhibits at the Indiana State Fair, Aug. 8-19.
Bring your gardening questions to the Purdue Master Gardener
booth in the Ball State Agricultural/Horticulture Building.
HOME (Indoor plants and activities)
Take cuttings from plants such as impatiens, coleus, geraniums and
wax begonias to overwinter indoors. Root the cuttings in media such
as moist vermiculite, perlite, peat moss or potting soil, rather than
water.
Order spring-flowering bulbs for fall planting.
Cut flowers from the garden to bring a little
color indoors or to dry for everlasting arrangements.
YARD (Lawns, woody ornamentals and fruits)
Check trees and shrubs that have been planted in recent years for girdling
damage by guy wires, burlap or ropes.
Don't fertilize woody plants now. It stimulates
late growth that will not have time to harden
off properly before winter.
Hand-prune and destroy bagworms, fall webworms
and tent caterpillars.
Pears are best ripened off the tree, so do
not wait for the fruit to turn yellowish
on the tree. Harvest pears when color of fruit changes--usually
from a dark green to a lighter green--and
when the fruit is easily twisted and removed
from the spur.
Prune out and destroy the raspberry and blackberry
canes that bore fruits this year. They
will not produce fruit again next year, but they
may harbor insect and disease
organisms.
If weather turns dry, keep newly established
plants well watered. New plants should
receive 1 to 1.5 inches of water every
week to 10 days.
Begin seeding new lawns or bare spots
in established lawns in mid-August
through mid-September.
GARDEN (Flowers, vegetables and small fruits)
Keep the garden well watered during dry weather and free of weeds,
insects and disease.
Complete fall garden planting by direct-seeding
carrots, beets, kohlrabi, kale and snap beans early
this month. Lettuce, spinach, radishes and green onions can be planted
later in August and
early September. Don't forget to thin seedlings
to appropriate spacing as needed.
Harvest onions after the tops yellow and fall,
then cure them in a warm, dry, well-ventilated
area. The necks should be free of moisture when
fully cured in about a week's time.
Harvest potatoes after the tops yellow and die.
Potatoes also need to be cured before storage.
Pick beans, tomatoes, peppers and squash often
to encourage further production.
Harvest watermelon when several factors indicate
ripeness--the underside ground spot turns from
whitish to creamy yellow; the tendril closest to
the melon turns brown and shrivels; the rind
loses its gloss and appears dull; and the melon
produces a dull thud rather than a ringing sound
when thumped.
Harvest sweet corn when kernels are plump and ooze
a milky juice when punctured with your fingernail.
If the liquid is watery, you’re too early; if the kernels are doughy, you're too
late.
Keep faded flowers pinched off bedding plants to
promote further flowering and improve plant appearance.
Spade or till soil for fall bulb planting, and
add a moderate amount of fertilizer.
7-19-07
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