Events

• Brown Bag Seminars

At noon on the second and fourth Thursdays at the Clallam County Courthouse (commissioners meeting room), 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.

Aug. 14: “Year-Round Lettuce” — Muriel Nesbitt

Aug. 28: “Wasps and Hornets” — Laurel Moulton

• Class Act Seminars

From 10-11 a.m. on Saturdays at the Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden, 2711 Woodcock Road, Sequim

Aug. 9: “Bug Day!” — Laurel Moulton

Aug. 23: “Blueberries!” — Jeanette Stehr-Green

•Friday Walks in the Garden

From noon-1 p.m. on the second Friday of each month (May through October) at the Fifth Street Community Garden, 328 E. Fifth St., Port Angeles. Upcoming dates: Aug. 8, Sept. 12, Oct. 10.

General garden advice

It’s high summer! This is the hottest, driest month of the year, so monitor your plants and keep them well watered. Don’t let the weeds get ahead of you, as seeds will germinate fast in your warm, moist flower and vegetable beds.

Pull weeds out while they are small and never let them go to seed.

Your compost pile should benefit from the heat, but don’t let it dry out. Turn and moisten it as necessary.

Most important of all, enjoy the fruits of your labor. Cut flowers for bouquets and harvest vegetables for good eating.

Caring for your  ornamental garden

• Annuals: Deadhead plants to keep them blooming through fall. Fertilize plants in containers every two weeks, as they lose nutrients from frequent watering.

• Bulbs, Corms, Rhizomes and Tubers: Divide and replant iris. When cutting lilies for bouquets leave as much of the stem as possible (at least two-thirds) as they regenerate their bulbs from the stem. Fertilize dahlias using a low-nitrogen fertilizer after watering. Plant fall crocus for late September bloom.

• Lawns: Mow the lawn and deep water at least once this month. Don’t fertilize this month.

• Perennials: Fertilize and water fall-bloomers such as asters and chrysanthemums using a low-nitrogen fertilizer.

Prune roses for a pleasing shape; remove crossing branches and work to open up the center of the plant for good air circulation. Pull off sprouts arising below the graft union (suckers) and remove leaves with black spot; do not compost. This is the last month for planting roses; be sure to mulch after planting, but do not fertilize. Shear lavender to reshape it after blooming.

• Shrubs and Trees: Don’t plant trees and shrubs until fall. Leave them in pots and water regularly. Avoid extensive pruning since it encourages new growth late in the season; remove dead material and shape lightly. Prune hydrangeas as soon as flowers begin to fade.

Care for your edible garden

• Berries: Clean up, fertilize and water June-bearing strawberries after harvest; remove weak, old and crowded plants and narrow rows to 8- to 12-inches.

Prune out second-year raspberry and blackberry canes (canes that just fruited) after harvest. Trellis first-year canes of trailing blackberries unless you live at a higher elevation.

Harvest blueberries 2-3 days after the entire berry turns blue.

• Fruit Trees: Except for pears, harvest fruit when ripe. Apples are ripe when the seeds turn brown; plums, when fruit slightly soft.

Harvest pears when full-sized but hard.

• Vegetables: Prune about 4 inches from the growing tips of tomato vines and remove blossoms to force the plant to put all its energy into ripening fruit.

Remove tomato plants with signs of late blight such as water-soaked spots on leaves, stems or fruit.

Remove new flowers on winter squash plants to enhance ripening and size of existing maturing fruits.

If squash and cucumber plants show powdery mildew, cut off affected areas.

Harvest onions when about half the tops of the onions in your patch have fallen over. Brush the dirt off and leave in the sun to cure for a week.

Harvest potatoes when the foliage dies back.

Harvest garlic early in the month when 4-5 leaves are still green. Lift garlic bulbs gently, brush off dirt, cure until shoots and roots are dry (4-6 weeks).

Planting your winter garden

We are lucky to live where it is possible to harvest vegetables all year. There are a variety of plants you can start now that will grow over the summer to be ready to harvest in the fall and winter.

Early in the month, directly seed arugula, collards, kale, daikon/winter radish, leaf mustards, Chinese greens, spinach, winter onions and scallions, lettuce and mizuna.

Late in the month, directly seed corn salad, arugula, cilantro and winter lettuce. Be sure to buy the right cultivar for a winter garden; check in a seed catalogue or at a local nursery. You also can buy starts that can be set out about a month later than the directly seeded vegetables.

Purple sprouting broccoli, winter cauliflower and cabbage should have been direct seeded by July but can be bought as starts and planted now. If you planted carrots early in July, they will have time to mature before cold weather sets in. You can leave them in the ground and harvest as you need them over the winter.

If your beds still have summer veggies, plant seeds in trays and then transplant them in September after the other vegetables have been harvested. For example, plant lettuce for the winter where your beans grew. To make this garden successful, cover the new plants with row cover to prevent insect infestations. Row cover left on for the winter also protects plants from wind and keeps them somewhat warmer. Mulch as the weather gets colder to keep the top layer of soil from freezing.

Lois Bellamy and Bill Wrobel are Washington State University-certified Clallam County Master Gardeners.