Sunset – July 2019

SUNSET JULY/AUGUST 2019 33 --

Learn what to plant when with our year-round checklists: sunset.com/checklists.

Northwest

PLANT
Sow cool-season crops
now for autumn harvest. For col-
orful veggies, include ‘Harlequin
Mix’ carrots (orange, purple,
white, and yellow); ‘Bright
Lights’ chard (stalks are gold,
pink, red, white, and yellow);
and ‘Garden Party’ radishes
(gold, pink, purple, red, and
white). All are available at
reneesgarden.com.

Try purple sprouting broccoli. To
extend your harvest season,
grow more than one variety and
choose options that mature at
different rates. If set now,
‘Rudolph’ can start rewarding
you in December, ‘Red Admiral’
will produce in mid-February,
and ‘Red Fire’ will follow in
early March.

MAINTAIN
As bearded iris foliage
withers, stop watering. When
leaves turn brown, trim them
back, then dig and divide
rhizomes. Let them dry in the
shade for a few days, then
replant.

Summer pruning inhibits
regrowth in trees (as opposed
to stimulating winter cuts), so
now is a good time to tackle
varieties that normally respond
to a cold-season trimming with
lots of sucker growth. If suckers
do appear, pinch them off while
they’re still young and tender.

Once you’ve picked them clean,

feed each 100 square feet of

June-bearing strawberries with

1 to 2 pounds of 10-10-10 fertil-

izer. Water well.

HARVEST

Harvest leaf vegetables

(chard and leaf lettuce, for

example) first thing in the morn-

ing by snapping off outside

leaves at the base.

Gather figs when their necks

bend or if their sides start to

split. Don’t leave overripe casu-

alties on the tree or the ground—

they can attract pesky yellow

jackets.

Apple, peach, pear, and plum

trees may be heavy with fruit

this month. Harvest fruit regu-

larly and clean up fallen fruit to

discourage rodents.

Rocky Mountains

PLANT

For an autumn harvest,

start new crops of beets, cucum-

bers, green beans, peas, and

Swiss chard midmonth. Protect

tender seedlings from harmful

critters with floating row covers,

but remove them once plants

are established to allow access

to pollinators.

Add heat-tolerant black-eyed

Susan vines (Thunbergia alata)

to hanging baskets, window

boxes, large pots, or trellises for

vibrant color through the

summer.

Attract butterflies by adding tall

sedums to your flower beds.

These tough succulents thrive in

heat and sun and come back

every year. Good choices

include brick-colored ‘Autumn

Fire’, pink-flowered ‘Matrona’

and ‘Pink Bomb’, variegated

‘Frosty Morn’ and ‘Mediovarie-

gatum’, and purple-leafed ‘Mae-

stro’ and ‘Purple Emperor’.

MAINTAIN

When lily flowers fade, cut

off the top of each stalk just

below where pods are starting

to form. Doing so strengthens

the bulb rather than wasting

energy on seed production.

Feed broccoli, brussels sprouts,

cabbage, cauliflower, corn, egg-

plants, kohlrabi, peppers, pota-

toes, and tomatoes. Move aside

any mulch before spreading fer-

tilizer between plants. Replace

the mulch after watering the soil.

If stems and leaves suddenly wilt

and die on pumpkins or winter

gourds, look for squash bugs on

the underside of leaves. To con-

trol, drop bugs into a bucket of

soapy water. Then spray the

undersides of leaves with neem

oil every 7 to 10 days to prevent

squash bug eggs from hatching.

The oil will also help prevent

powdery mildew.

Northern

California

PLAN

Order bulbs for fall plant-

ing. These unsung heroes are

often drought-tolerant and

extremely low-maintenance.

Checklist

HOME & GARDEN

Rocky

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July/August