August is one of the best months in the garden! Many of the best fruits of your labor are finally hitting the table. But, don’t let the joy of harvest make you lax in the work department. 🙂 Big things to remember are watering and weeding. August, in many places, is the hottest month of the garden season, therefore the plants need that extra water. Even and consistent watering is very important to your plants. And, weeding, though it’s a pain, is important as the weeds rob your fruits and veggies of that precious water they so need to thrive in the hot months.
Don’t forget the time-honored tip to avoid watering during midday, when more water will evaporate than soak into soil.
It’s not uncommon for plants to wilt on hot afternoons even though soil has adequate moisture. The wilting occurs because plants are losing water faster than their roots can absorb it. Leaves should revive by early evening, after the sun is no longer directly on leaves. If not, water deeply the next morning.
And that tip to water early in the day? The reasons are two-fold. First, if you water early in the morning, the plants have time to drink deeply before the heat of the day burns off the watering. Second, if you water later, say in the evening, the water does not have time to evaporate and too much water on the leaves during the cool evening and night hours gives a ripe breeding ground for many plant-borne pathogens, a bad idea when trying to prevent plant diseases in the garden. It’s really not worth losing all your hard earned harvest rewards in the garden!