July Garden Activities

  Protect honeybees. Use caution when applying insecticides to flowering plants.

  During the growing season, cut down suspected pine wilt trees within one month of the tree losing it's green color.

• Plant fall garden beets, broccoli, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots and cucumbers.
   
• Harvest vegetables.  Continue fungicide spray program on vegetables, but check harvest time limits between applications.
   
• Poor fruit set in vegetables is often causes by poor pollination due to environmental conditions.  For example, daytime temperatures above 90°F or night time temperatures below 50°F are not favorable for pollination to occur.  Very few fruits will set when temperatures are in this range for extended periods.  Long periods of cloudy or wet weather inhibit bee activity and subsequent fruit set.  Extremely hot, dry weather can cause poor pollen adhesion to flower structures or fruit abortion due to a lack of water within the plant.  Excess nitrogen applications can promote foliage development at the expense of fruit set.  Providing good management of vegetable crops, including adequate water, mulch and proper fertilization, can help mitigate fruit set problems.

• Apply first spray on peach, cherry and plum for peach tree borer using permethrin.  2nd and 3rd applications on July 25 and August 15.  Choose a product labeled for use on fruit trees.

• Order bulbs for fall planting.

• Watch for fall webworm in decidous trees & shrubs.  Their webs may be broken up with a rake or broom, or with a strong jet of water.  Although the webs are ugly, the insects cause little serious damage to plants.  Chemical control is seldom required. 
   
• Watch for groups of walnut caterpillars feeding in walnut trees.  Look for masses of larvae moving down the tree to shed their skins on the lower trunk.  This is a good time for physical control by crushing the insects.  Or apply a band of Tanglefoot around the trunk to snare the insects.
   
• In late July, watch for second generation oystershell scale crawlers to appear.  Treat with horticultural oil, insecticidal soap or acephate if necessary.

• Aster yellows is a common disease that affects many ornamental flowers.  Susceptible plants include asters, chrysanthemums, coreopsis, cosmos, echinacea (coneflowers), dianthus, gladiola, marigold and petunias.  Vein clearing or loss of green pigment within the veins, is often the first symptom.  Stunting, stiff bushy yellow growth, deformed or poorly developed flowers that remain green are all symptoms.  There is no cure for infected plants.  Remove and discard them to reduce further spread.

• Chiggers produce an itchy bite. Apply insect repellent before venturing into tall grass or weeds.

• July 15 to August 15, check for sod webworm larvae and control if necessary.
   
• Check lawn for rust diseases, begin fungicide spray program on lawns with a history of rust.  Plan to overseed with rust resistant turfgrass cultivars in September for long term control.

• Second application on cedar/junipers for cercospora blight with copper fungicide, Bordeaux mixture or mancozeb.  Additional applications may be necessary at monthly intervals if frequent rains occur in August and September.  Use of a spreader-sticker may increase effectiveness.
   
• Watch for the second generation of pine needle scale on affected trees.  Tiny, red crawlers are present for a couple weeks after hatching and are susceptible to insecticide control.  Make one insecticide application, and repeat once or twice at 7-10 day intervals.