We are enter July following a June that was hotter and drier than middling . This has need more watering than usual and induce coolheaded weather crops to gobble apace . On the other hand the dirt is warm , and heat - loving summertime crops like squash , melons , seraphic potatoes , and eggplants are off to a good first . flexibleness in plant life selection and planting timing is key to optimizing results given the weather ’s unpredictability .

Planting and Harvesting

As you transition from bound to summertime crops and after from summertime to light , be sure to defend good ground hygiene by removing dog-tired and pathologic plant life fabric . Prune and blank space industrial plant to allow for good air circulation . body of water at the base of plants , in the morning , and avoid splashing soil on plants . A light wheat or leaf mulch can avail prevent dirt splash while helping to conserve dirt moisture if weather continues to be live and dry .

If you engraft cool weather crops in the former spring , they have likely dispatch their animation cycles . This typically includes greens and cole crops , although , with fortune , you may be harvesting the last of your broccoli and chard . Clean the garden of spend plant life , perhaps pass on a few uneaten lettuce and herbs to flower , which will draw pollinator and good insects to the garden . The remote plants can be composted if not pathological and if they have n’t set source . Otherwise , it is in effect to dispose of them .

There is still meter to plant summer vegetables including beans , okra plant , pumpkin vine , seraphic potatoes , cucumber , peppers , squash , Indian corn , eggplant and Lycopersicon esculentum .

Late July into August is the fourth dimension to make a spill planting of your favored nerveless conditions vegetable . Amend soils now by adding mature compost and organic fertiliser to the top couple of column inch of land to give soil lifetime the clock time to make nutrients plant - approachable . Crops that can be planted at the end of July let in broccoli , brussels sprouts , cabbage , carrots , cauliflower , collard greens , leeks , and rutabaga .

For a comprehensive listing of urge planting time for your hardiness zona , refer toExtension Publication 426 - 331 , Virginia ’s Home Gardening and Vegetable Planting Guide .

Advice for Tomato Growers

Tomatoesare a value summer crop for many of us . It is in force to support plant life with stakes or cages . If you usestakes(I use half column inch rebar , but woods is usually used ) , tie plants loosely to the stake with a diffuse string or cloth strip . Add ties to give needed supporting as plant maturate and yield develop . Prune grim leaves that touch the basis to decoct susceptibility to territory pathogen . Allow up to two main stems and pinch off all other “ chump ” that sprout at leafage / bow point of intersection to focus the plant life on yield product rather than vegetational increment .

snarf off “ suckers ” where leaf and root word articulation to focus tomato plant on yield production

Cagesrequire more upfront investment funds and off - season storage quad , but subdue plant maintenance time during the growing season . If you use cage , prune plant to 3 or 4 main stems . The additional vegetation will help protect fruit from sun scald .

In all causa , hit any diseased foliage quickly with shears disinfected with a 10 % bleach answer . good to bag and remove diseased vegetation with your trash . Mulching with pale yellow helps exert wet , throw down mourning band , and reduce land splash during tearing .

A more sodding guide to growing tomatoes is provided inExtension Publication 426 - 418,titled “ Tomatoes . ”

Summer Pests

summertime is the acme bodily function period for many garden pests . Here is some selective information about a few usual one :

Slugs : A run of loaded weather in the summertime tend to do slugs to proliferate . Besides handpicking them where leaf price signals their presence , improving air circulation by thinning heavy mulches and pruning and space plant life can aid get by them . Sprinkling diatomaceous earth or crush egg shells around flora al-Qaida can create a barrier to slug reaching plant stem . Toads are a natural predator , so creating atoad housenearby may also help . Other hinderance let in placing a pan of beer with border at soil level , inviting them to slide in and drown , or placing a partial melon rind upside down on the ground overnight , then collecting the rind and overstuffed type slug in the dayspring for administration .

Striped cuke beetle . exposure : Melissa McMasters ,   milliliter BY 2.0

Cucumber Beetles : fully grown cucumber vine beetle go forth in former June / other July . stripy and spotted smorgasbord can damage flowers , foliage , and root word of cucurbit family plants . They are also a vector for bacterial wilt disease disease . Control them with words covers , by hand pick , and upright garden hygiene . For serious infestations , additional bar are outlined inExtension Publication 2808 - 1009,“Cucumber Beetles . ”

Squash Bugs : Squash bug nymphs and adult can attack any cucurbit but prefer squashes and pumpkins . They pierce plant tissue paper and suck liquid out , while injecting a toxic substance into the industrial plant that causes vine to wilt and die . A board on the terra firma near vines offer up nightlong shelter to the hemipteron which can be collected and dropped into oleaginous piddle in the morning . Maintaining good biodiversity can also help . The tachinid tent-fly attacks squash bugs and can help see to it humble infestations . contingent are available inNC State Extension Publication : “ Lookout for Squash Bugs . ”

Stink Bugs : Brown marmorated reek bugs will attack a variety of plants include Lycopersicon esculentum , capsicum pepper plant , beans , cucurbits and dulcet corn . They suck liquids from leaves stimulate spots and wilting . Handpicking , practiced hygienics , and minimizing woods mulches can help control them . fellow traveler planting with chives , onion plant , garlic , radish plant , nasturtiums , marigold , bee balm , and dill also deter infestations . Again , good insect , namely the tachinid fly , predate on the hemipteran and are helpful . Tachinid fly are not available commercially , so ramp up a various ecosystem around the garden   to pull in them .

Cabbage wrestle : During the past few year my garden have had serious infestations of the larva of imported cabbage moth and cross - striped cabbage moth that have decimate my kale and collard . This year I protected them with a row concealment in early May and am glad to report that the greens have mature well with virtually no harm . Because we are approaching fall planting time for these crop and since the moths and larvae are active until freeze , this touchstone may be of stake if you have scramble with these pests . Simple and inexpensive run-in cover ideas are explained in the November 2019Garden Shedarticle“Row Covers : A Season Extender with Benefits ” .

If you need aid identify an dirt ball , try the University of Georgia Extension videoGarden Insects : Friend or Foe . A unspoilt source to set treatments for identified pests is theCornell Extension ’s Resource Guide for Organic Insect and Disease Management .

Other ideas to help maintain garden wellness during July :

For more summit on a form of gardening topics , train out theMonthly Gardening Tipslisted on the PiedmontMasterGardeners.org site underGardening Resources .

I hope you find oneself this information helpful and attend forth to partake ideas again   next calendar month .

Sources :

Virginia ’s Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide : Recommended Planting Dates and Amounts to Plant

“ Weeds in the Home Vegetable Garden , ” Virginia Cooperative Extension Publication No . 426 - 364,pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426 - 364

“ Basil Problem , ” NC Cooperative Extension.https://growingsmallfarms.ces.ncsu.edu/growingsmallfarms-fusariumbasil/