Watering is a top priority for every gardener in July – especially when you are dealing with sandy soil. Look forward to warm evenings and an enchanting floral display. The July checklist shows you how to do just that.
Kitchen Garden
Fight caterpillars: Offer codling moths an artificial hiding place in which to pupate – with 10cm wide strips of coarse corrugated board. Tie them around the apple stem and check them weekly for caterpillars. After eating apples for four weeks until they are full, the pests leave them at the beginning of July and look for a hiding place under the bark – and the corrugated board. By removing them, you counteract a new infestation.
Propagate strawberries: Strawberries form long tendrils with leafy offshoots that are well suited for propagation. Raise the offshoot that grows closest to the mother plant, bury a small clay pot underneath, and plant the offshoot in it. The connection to the mother plant is maintained for the time being, and only the tendril behind the pot is removed so that the strawberry doesn’t have to supply any more plants. The cuttings root until autumn, then you can cut off the tendril from the mother plant.
Thin out fruit trees: Vertical water sprouts that have formed in the trees only cost the tree energy. Now cut as close to the branch as possible – we recommend using STIHL pruning shears.
Flower Garden
Water: Water less often, but abundantly. This allows the water to seep deep into the soil and reach the plant roots. A clay soil should be watered once a week, but a sandy soil every 2-3 days. Water in the morning.
Mow the lawn: When mowing, always make sure that the blades are sharp. The correct cutting height depends on the amount of sunlight: in sunny locations, the optimum height is 4 to 5cm, but for shady lawns this is 5 to 7cm. To avoid unattractive flaws in the lawn, no more than a third of the length should be shortened during each mowing. When dry, the stalks should remain 1-2cm longer. If you use a mulch mower, you will have to work once or twice a week, as otherwise too many lawn cuttings will fall onto the turf at once and create felt.
Hoe the soil: Regular hoeing saves water. The hoe creates hair-thin holes in the soil through which soil water evaporates. After hoeing, the upper centimetres of the soil dry out, but it remains moist underneath.