August 14, 2020, by Maartje

Garden jobs in August

Outdoor, Handy
August 14, 2020, by Maartje

Garden jobs in August

No no, don't sit back now. If you want to enjoy all the energy you have put into your garden in the autumn and next year, you have to keep track of some things now. Read here all our Barts outdoor (garden) tips, written down by a semi-pro (my mother), quite a nice category if we say so ourselves. She also has a number of tips & tricks for August, would you like to read along?

 

Do you have a pond and does the water evaporate quickly when it is so hot? Add some tall water plants. That helps. And iIf the water is cloudy, there are not enough oxygen-rich plants in your pond. So they have to go in. You can also throw water fleas into the water. You can just buy them at the garden center. 

For your ornamental garden:

You can tie tall sunflowers to a piece of bamboo so that they do not blow over. If you want to put them in a vase, fill the vase with not too much warm water. Make sure no leaves are submerged in water. If they still hang their heads, add a dash of chlorine or cut flower food to the water.

You can also dry the flowers and feed the seeds to the birds in winter. 

This month collect seeds from flowers that you want to have again next year. Store the seed in a dry and dark place and sow it again in the spring.

In warm weather, place a bowl of water in the garden so that the birds can bathe and hedgehogs can quench their thirst.

You can also take cuttings from annual plants and from basically all types of herbs. Take a top of about 10 cm without flowers. Cut the bottom diagonally with a sharp knife. Remove the lower leaves. Stick the cutting in the ground. Place in the shade and ensure that the soil remains moist. Finished.

You can also propagate lavender this way. When the lavender has finished blooming, prune the plant back. Make sure there is about 2/3 left.

August is a good month to harvest herbs. Pick them and tie them in bunches. Hang them upside down to dry in a windy place where the sun doesn't shine.

Prune the hedges so that they go into the winter nice and tight. But not after mid-September because then they are sensitive to frost.

Do not fertilize after August. The plants are ready for their rest period and with fertilizer they think they have to do their best to bloom and grow again.

Allotment:

You can prune berries and blackberries now, and fruit trees can be pruned after harvest. Prune the leaves around grapes and tomato bunches so that the sun can reach them properly. Do not prune all the leaves from the plant!

Strawberries can still be planted in August and you can also quickly sow some lettuce, spinach (does better in autumn than in summer), parsley and Swiss chard.

If you are not satisfied with your garden, now is the time to make new plans! If you want to move a shrub, you can cut off the roots on the sides now, but wait until the end of September or October before transplanting.

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