July Garden

July is usually hot in our valley, but it's not been bad yet. And luckily we always have cool mornings. Most big garden projects have been completed, the yard is blooming with lots of flowers, and we have dragonflies, butterflies, and all sizes of bees.

It's too late to plant most summer veggies, and too early to start fall crops, so my focus in early July is on garden care - watering, weeding, mulching - and on HARVEST.

Agenda:

1. July harvest

2. July tasks

3. July planting tips

1. July Harvest:

All year, my most important task in the garden is to harvest AND USE what I’ve already grown. I try to harvest the low maintenance, high value crops first, and figure out how to use them in the kitchen - just do what I can and enjoy it.

I'm picking raspberries every day, and collecting duck eggs of course, herbs, the last of the peas, carrots, and tomatoes. I probably need to use the collards now, before it bolts.

Garlic is ready to harvest when the bottom 3-4 leaves of the plant have died. Lift the bulbs gently with a digging fork, and cure on a tray for 2 weeks in a warm, dry, well-ventilated area. Trim roots to 1/2-inch long and store bulbs in hanging wire baskets or mesh produce bag - air circulation is essential. Last year I froze some cloves and they were mushy but usable; and I stored some in vinegar! Also, I use the garlic stems as mulch around pest-prone plants; pests are repelled by the garlic scent.

I didn't plant onions this year, but Onions are ready when the bulbs are of a good size and the tops fall over. They can be lifted from the soil with a trowel and cured in a cool, dark place. My onions begin to bolt at about this time every year, so I need to be more careful to mulch them earlier.

2. July tasks:

I'm using the Second Breakfast Garden monthly guides this year to update my checklists, because they are in zone 8b. "July is growth-season for heat lovers, bolting season for cool weather crops, and harvest season for garlic and many other root crops. It is also time to plan for fall crops and perhaps even start some seeds."

1. Mulch: Now that the slugs are underground for the season (more or less), it’s okay to add mulch to veggie beds. Drop mulch on top of drip irrigation lines to retain more water. Use untreated straw, leaf mold, compost, or green mulch.

2. Weed: Weeds are an essential part of my ecosystem. I have stopped pulling weeds in some beds, and instead I tear them off at the ground and use them as mulch. This method leaves the soil untilled; tilling exposes new seeds, and you just get more weeds. But I still pull weeds that are close to my veggie plants.
3. Use fish fertilizer every two weeks, except in extreme heat: It's a mild, all-purpose high-nitrogen feeding option that can be used as a soil drench, foliar spray, or added to the compost pile. Apply when a plant is growing - gaining mass - not when they are developing fruit or hardening wood for winter. 
4. Pick off cucumber beetles: They are striped yellow and black bugs that feed on leaves and stems, and a large infestation can defoliate plants. They also spread the deadly bacterial wilt disease.
5. Aphids: Wherever I see aphids, I can look also for little golden clutches of ladybugs eggs. (cabbage moth eggs look similar but maybe not in a clutch?)
6. Deadhead herbs and flowers often.
7. Peas: When peas are done, let the last peas dry on the vine.
8. Prepare to start fall crops: Get seed (including a cover crop), clean pots, make potting soil, and set up.

3. July planting tips:

The only summer plants that can still be planted outdoors from seed are bush beans (before mid-July) and beets (July 15). 

July is also when to start some crops to overwinter, but they need to be started indoors where you can control the water and heat, then set them out later, when the temperature is consistently below 90º. When planting anything for the fall, make sure you plant early enough to mature before the first frost date (FFD), which for us is on October 20th.

Starting indoors in July:

• Leeks - start in mid-July, 13 weeks before FFD, to transplant outside by September 7
• Kale - start indoors 12 weeks before FFD - July 27. Set out 6 weeks later, September 1.
• Broccoli - end of July
• Leaf lettuce - end of July
• Over-wintering onions - end of July

Start indoors in early August:

• Pok choy - start indoors 10 weeks before FFD - August 9.
• Cabbage- start 8 weeks before FFD - August 23.
• Spinach - start 8 weeks before FFD - August 23.
• Collards- - start 8 weeks before FFD - August 23.

Direct sow in late August:

• radishes
• carrots
• beets
• peas

Warmer parts of this zone can plant a fall crop of potatoes. Try to get them in by the second week of September.