Summer Vegetable Gardening

Summer vegetable gardens are in full swing in most areas of the country. Here are some things you can do to keep your harvest coming long into fall:

Water regularly. Inconsistent watering will diminish yields, and what can be harvested will be of poor quality. Lack of soil moisture causes blossom end rot in tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables; turns cucumbers bitter; and makes squash, beans and eggplant stop producing. Don’t let plants dry out. When you do irrigate, water deeply (at least 12 to 18 inches) to wet the entire root zone. Refresh mulches to cool soil and conserve moisture.

Fertilize lightly. Most vegetables will benefit from light fertilization about every 6 weeks in midsummer. Just don’t overdo it. Too much nitrogen will cause some vegetables, especially tomatoes, to stop producing.

Pick often. Visit the garden at least every other day to harvest mature vegetables. Plants such as cucumbers, beans, squash, peppers and eggplant will stop producing if not picked regularly. If you can’t use everything you harvest, share your bounty with neighbors.

Keep planting. In many areas of the country, August is the ideal time to plant cool-season vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, chard, peas and lettuce. Shorter days and cooler weather are perfect for ripening later in fall. In mild-winter areas, harvest can extend into winter and there still may be time to plant another crop of quick-maturing summer vegetables such as beans and squash. For exact planting dates, visit your state’s cooperative extension Web site. You’ll find links on the home page of this site.

Pull weeds. Weeds compete with vegetables for water, light and nutrients, and reduce yields. Cultivate the soil often and remove weeds whenever you see them. Mulching will also help reduce weeds.

Use season-extenders. In short-season areas where frosts can occur anytime, protect plants with floating row covers. Available in nurseries and garden centers, floating row covers are made of lightweight cloth, which transmits light and water, but traps warmth to hasten ripening and protect from cold.

Control insect pests. Insects such as cucumber beetles, tomato hornworms, potato beetles, corn borers, cabbage loopers and others will want to share in your bounty. Protect vegetables listed on the label from insect pests with Bayer Advanced™ PowerForce® Multi-Insect Killer Concentrate, Bayer Advanced™ Complete Insect Dust For Gardens Ready-To-Use or Bayer Advanced™ Complete Insect Killer for Gardens Ready-To-Use. To protect plants against slugs and snails, use Bayer Advanced™ Dual Action Snail & Slug Killer Bait Granules, which you can use around pets and wildlife.

Identifying and Controlling Lawn Diseases

Properly identifying and controlling diseases in your lawn can be one of the more challenging aspects of lawn care. Left alone, diseases such as brown patch or dollar spot can quickly turn beautiful grass into a splotchy mess, or worse. Without correct identification, a disease will likely be difficult to control. Bayer Advanced experts offer help controlling lawn diseases in our online resource articles. For additional information on identifying and controlling specific diseases consult the following resources.

Controlling Lawn Diseases
Bayer Advanced™ Fungus Control for Lawns Granules
Disease Identifier

Caring for Container Plants in Hot Weather

Midsummer is one of the most difficult times when it comes to caring for container plants. Hot weather makes watering pots full of flowers and other ornamentals a daily chore. Forget just once, and it’s curtains. The heat is so unforgiving you might as well just start over. And all the extra watering that you have to do only increases the leaching of nutrients out of the potting soil. Even with proper watering, the plants can look malnourished.

Here are some ways to simplify summer container care:

POT-UP. Transplanting into larger containers will increase rooting space and provide a larger reservoir for moisture. Use a quality potting mix.

INSTALL DRIP IRRIGATION. Nurseries and garden centers sell drip kits specifically designed for containers. Connect the system to an automatic controller, and you can even water while on vacation.

GROUP CONTAINERS. Groupings not only look better, they allow the pots to shade each other, decreasing the amount of sun that hits their sides, thus reducing evaporation.

MOVE POTS TO COOLER LOCATIONS. Placing pots where they get a little shade during the hottest part of the day usually won’t reduce their performance, but it will cool them and reduce water needs. Moving containers off or away from hot pavement will also help.

PLACE CATCH TRAYS UNDERNEATH. This will allow excess water to be absorbed back into the pot through the drainage holes. Just make sure the water doesn’t stand too long. Overly wet soil could promote root disease.

FERTILIZE REGULARLY. Replace nutrients with regular applications of a complete fertilizer.

PROTECT FROM INSECTS. You can protect and feed your ornamental plants (not for use on edibles) with Bayer Advanced™ 2-in-1 Insect Control plus Fertilizer Plant Spikes no spraying, no mess. Just push the spikes into the soil for up to eight weeks of nutrition and protection.

When you do water, make sure the root ball is thoroughly wet. That may take several passes with the hose.