August - Grower's Calendar

August Garden

A wave of sweet delight is here. The garden offers us its tastiest fruits while nurturing every branch. This warm month, which August undoubtedly is, holds a much greater working strategy than might appear at first glance. We find ourselves in a period when it's important to check the condition of our plants and trees for dreaded pests. It's also time for grafting and pruning fruit trees and conifers. Compared to other months, August is a time of abundance and calm. The gardener or grower can slowly breathe out and only take the most essential measures. Even in such a mild and warm month, there's still plenty to plant, so don't worry that there won't be anything to stick in or drill a planting stake into.

Lawn in Midsummer

It's true that winter is very hard to think about at this moment, but unfortunately this doesn't apply to lawns. The main measure for gradually preparing for winter ovations is the gradual removal of supporting substances in the form of fertilizers. By mid-month, it should be fertilized for the very last time of the season.

Pear Rust

This is an unpleasant fungal disease of pear trees. You can recognize it very easily thanks to the conspicuous orange-brown coloring on the leaves. If you want to cleverly prevent this disease, get rid of all old juniper by pruning. Spraying with a fungicide is also an option, which will easily protect pear trees in the entire area.

We're Still Sowing Vegetables

Don't be fooled by the calm period. It may seem like there's nothing to plant, but the opposite is true. There's a whole range of vegetable types you can sow right now. Freshly sown corn salad will do best - you'll definitely manage to harvest it before the first frosts and prepare a very tasty meal from it. Don't be afraid to plant radishes, winter onions, cabbage, or the less known black salsify.

If you want to get very tasty and healthy vegetables on your plate this year, sow spinach, which is rich not only in vitamins. In exactly one month, the first young leaves will enrich your menu. Sow it preferably in rows at least 20cm apart. Prepare loosened soil for it, slightly fertilized with well-matured compost.

Bulbs

Do you want next spring to be full of blooming buds playing with all colors? Flowers are usually the pride of every garden and the skill of each grower. In that case, focus on planting them now. These include snowdrops, spring snowflakes, dog's tooth violet. You can also invite saffron, eranthis, or squill to your traditional repertoire. They like moist and permeable soil, except for eranthis, which prefer heavier and more humus-rich soil.

Beautiful Tomatoes

Their long growing season requires our constant attention. Having beautiful and abundant fruit takes a bit of effort, which is truly worthwhile. Perhaps yours are already turning beautifully red and ready for picking, but in many places they're still ripening. The problem is the first frosts, which will completely destroy green tomatoes, but picking them prematurely won't solve anything. They won't ripen at home after harvesting. Therefore, it's better to cut off the tops of the plants, which are very often still flowering at this time, thereby transferring the last energy to the desired areas and leaving the underdeveloped tomatoes to their fate on the compost heap.

Fruit Trees

Once you've completed this year's harvest, you can immediately begin more radical pruning. Focus on both fruit trees and shrubs. Try to visually thin out the tree's crown and remove branches heading directly into it. Also remove all damaged branches that would unnecessarily drain vital energy. Pay attention to twigs affected by diseases as well. It's better to remove such branches right back to the main branch. Raspberry canes need to have fruited canes removed, along with weak ones.

If your apple and plum trees were threatened by codling moth, it's essential to spray them. In August, sucking pests also appear – spider mites. Discovery in the form of webbing is an unpleasant warning sign. Use rapeseed oil-based products and take action in time.