In July, what will occupy you the most in the garden will most certainly be the harvest if you are lucky enough to have a vegetable garden or an orchard. But the ornamental garden, lawns and balcony may also suffer from drought. How do help flowers and plants withstand the heat of July? Let’s take stock of the work to be done in July in the garden…
What to do in the garden in July in the ornamental garden?
The ornamental garden is generally the part of the garden that suffers the most from high heat. Vigilance is therefore required with watering: water early in the morning or late in the evening depending on the temperatures and the time you have at the beginning or end of the day. Note that abundant, less regular watering is always better than very regular superficial watering: in the latter case, the water evaporates far too quickly and limits the root development of your plants. Finally, to prevent water evaporation, consider mulching.
Other tasks await you in the ornamental garden in July:
- Cut all the faded flowers from your perennials, roses or flowering shrubs: this is the best way to get new blooms faster!
- Stake the tall and fragile flowers, dahlias, asters, cosmos and gladioli, for example, to face the stormy summer winds.
- Cut camellias, hydrangeas, lavender, oleander, St. John’s wort, rosemary… The cuttings for July are most often cuttings from the heads of leafy twigs. You can proceed to the muffled, under frame or mini-greenhouse.
- Divide iris or primrose plants.
- Layer perennial carnations, Pignone, honeysuckle or jasmine.
- Pull out the spring bulbs whose foliage has yellowed and dried up, remove the earthy residues and store them in a dry, ventilated, unheated place, protected from frost and ideally from light.
- Sow biennial plants to prepare for next spring: forget-me-nots, daisies, pansies, etc.
- Plant fall bulbs.
What to do in the garden in July in the vegetable garden?
In July, no respite in the vegetable garden:
- Start harvesting your first vegetables. The garlic in particular will have to be pulled out.
- Water! Regular watering is essential for your vegetables to thrive. Random watering, for example, makes radishes pungent and green beans though. Water preferably early in the morning or late in the evening. Be careful not to wet the leaves to avoid diseases. Note that mulching retains moisture and helps limit watering.
- Sow beets, carrots, chervil, cabbage, zucchini, green beans, lamb’s lettuce, turnips, radishes…
- Plant chicory, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, courgettes, leeks…
- Weed and mound beans, potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes.
- Regularly prune aubergines, cucumbers, squash, melons and tomatoes.
- Lay nets against flies, pierids or flea beetles on plants that are susceptible to them.
- Beware of diseases: in the event of frequent rains (and this is sometimes the case in July), protect your potato and tomato plants from mildew with a Bordeaux mixture.
What to do in July on the balcony?
For your plants in pots and planters, consider:
- Cut off faded flowers that exhaust plants and delay the arrival of new flowers.
- Add natural liquid fertilizer.
- Take advantage of sunny days to take out your less fragile houseplants (especially succulents will be happy to get some fresh air).
