July 2004

Edible

Plant a late season vegetable garden by mid – July. In Northern Illinois our average date of first frost is around October 15. Vegetables that can be direct seeded in July for a fall harvest are beets, beans, collards, cucumbers, summer squash and cabbage. Be sure to supply moisture as seedlings grow during hot weather.

Walk through the vegetable garden every day to check for insects. Early control before insect populations build up is most effective. Check out the University of Illinois Extension website, Common Problems for Vegetable Crops for help with Insect ID and control at www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/vegproblems or call 773-233-0476 for the Common Vegetable Insect fact sheet.

Keep cucumbers well watered during dry weather. Cucumbers not watered regularly will become bitter.

Watch for a couple of common vegetable problems. Tomatoes full of flowers, but no fruit. This is usually caused by high day time temperatures of 90F and above and night time temperatures above 70F. Once temperatures cool, the tomatoes will set fruit. Another common problem is very large tomato plants with no flowers or fruit. Gardeners who are fertilizing with a high nitrogen fertilizer on a weekly basis usually cause this. Tomatoes need a starter fertilizer when transplants are set out and an application of a general garden fertilizer such as 5-10-5 when the first fruits set.

Ornamental

Pinch back snapdragons after their first flush of bloom to promote continuous flowering. Snaps will continue to flower even after light fall frosts.

Make the last pinch on mums around mid-July. This will allow the plants to set buds for fall bloom.

Make a last application of a general-purpose fertilizer such as a 10-10-10 around repeat blooming roses. Use about one-half cup of fertilizer per plant. Spread the fertilizer in a band around the plant. Work the fertilizer into the soil and water. Do not apply fertilizer after mid-August. Application at that time will cause new growth that will be highly susceptible to winter damage.

Start the annual watch for the dreaded Japanese beetle. These one-half inch long shiny green-headed beetles love roses and over 300 other plants. They are usually most active during the warmest part of the day from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The beetle will skeletonize leaves in a short period of time. Advertised Japanese beetle traps are not recommended. These may actually attract more beetles and increase plant damage. The insecticide Sevin will offer some control, but use should be limited, since Sevin will kill bees. An alternative control is to pick them off by hand and drop them into soapy water.

Apply a control for grubs in the lawn in July, especially if you have had problems with grubs in the past. Both halofenozide sold as GrubEx and imidacloprid sold as Merit are effective controls. Water the insecticides in with the equivalent of one-half inch of water. Both grub insecticides will take around two to three weeks to kill any grubs, but will provide protection for the rest of the summer.

Water the lawn at least once per week with the equivalent of one inch of moisture. Allowing the lawn to go dormant is ok, give it at least one half inch of water every two to three weeks. This will keep the grass plants alive, but still allow it to go dormant. Do not bring your lawn in and out of dormancy. This practice will cause the grass to use all its stored nutrients. Dormant lawns will green up in the fall with cooler temperatures and fall rains.

Have kids make handprint stepping-stones for the garden. Use disposable deep-dish aluminum pie tins or plastic containers used under houseplants to catch draining water for molds. Pour a cement mix into the mold and smooth the surface with a trowel. Have kids coat their hands with petroleum jelly and press their hands into the cement. Each child should sign and date their stone. Kids can decorate stones with marbles or pieces of colorful tile.