August in the Garden – 2023 Edition

Greetings, Lakeway gardeners! Welcome to the latest episode of Survivor: Garden Edition, also known as the wickedly hot Central Texas summer of 2023. All the wilting plants know Lakeway is officially in a state of extreme drought. Yes, just like last month, thanks to the stubborn subtropical ridge over Texas, we still have ridiculously high triple-digit temps outside with no sign of significant rain for the next two weeks. However, early August is a great time to stay inside, grab a cold lemonade and start focusing on your fall garden including getting your next crop of veggies growing. Of course if you’re determined to slog it out in the stifling heat this month, keep in mind that the coolest time to garden is in the very early morning or the last light of evening. Don’t forget to always wear sunscreen, long sleeves and a wide-brimmed SPF hat to protect yourself from the midday sun too. And of course, always stay hydrated! Remember the El Niño rains will arrive this fall, eventually…

Below we have many more helpful garden tips for your August gardening to-do list. You can also visit the Lakeway Garden Club for even more summer garden tips and tricks. Our Events Calendar showcases our upcoming LGC Member Mixer and many local or online classes and special events happening this summer and fall. And as always, happy gardening!

LGC Member News

Mark your calendars for our upcoming LGC Member Mixer on Thursday, September 7th at 10:30am at the Lake Travis Community Library. This casual get together will include group discussions about waterwise gardening, native plants and creating bountiful vegetable gardens. We’d love to display photos of our members’ gardens, so please send in your garden pix and we will share them during our meeting. If you would like to request a future garden topic or have a specific gardening question, please let us know.

Also currently we are looking for a few talented LGC members who have experience speaking to community groups about plants and other garden topics. If you have experience and are interested in becoming a certified Lakeway Garden Club speaker volunteer, please let us know.

August Garden Tips

Flowers to Plant

• Aster, Flowering Balsam, Begonia, Celosia, Cleome, Coleus, Coreopsis, Cosmos, Dusty Miller, Gomphrena, Hamelia, Impatiens, Jacobinia, Lantana, Marigold, Mexican Heather, Nicotiana, Pentas, Periwinkle, Petunias, Purslane, Saliva, Verbena, Zinnias

Seeds to Sow

• Beans – snap, lima
• Beets (late August)
• Carrots
• Chard, Swiss
• Collards
• Corn
• Cucumber
• Mustard
• Okra (early August)
• Peas – southern (early August)
• Potato – Irish
• Turnips (late August)

Things to Transplant

• Broccoli (late August)
• Brussel Sprouts (late August)
• Cabbage (late August)
• Cauliflower (late August)
• Eggplant (early August)
• Greens – warm season (early August)
• Mustard
• Peppers (early August)
• Pumpkins
• Squash – winter, summer
• Tomatoes (early to mid August)

August Garden To-Dos

Keeping plants healthy in intense heat and extreme drought.

Since plants can take intense heat and light if they have sufficient water, it is important to understand when to water, where to water and how much water to use. A good rule of “green” thumb is an inch of water a week. One thorough watering, which will deliver 1 inch of water at a time, is better than several shallower sessions for most plants. It is also important to keep in mind that it is the number of leaves on a plant that dictates how much water the plant uses. Between the temperatures and dry conditions, this is not the best time to try to establish new plants. Try waiting for the temperatures to cool a bit before you plant anything new. However, if you do have things newly planted, they will need at least an inch of water a week.

Appropriate watering is critical to success.

Water when you need to but don’t overwater or flood your plants. Slowly add water when the top few inches are dry or when the moisture meter says dry. Heat stressed plants are more tolerant of too little water than too much.  Overwatering signs are often similar to drought stress.  Use a moisture meter or long handled screwdriver to ensure that water is getting down to the roots of the plant and not just sitting on the surface.

Keeping lawns healthy.

Our turf grass is the biggest water consumer.  Letting your lawn go “blonde” for the summer is not a bad thing. Actually it is the waterwise choice and saves precious water in Lake Travis. But if you prefer greener grass, consider the “cycle and soak” method which is a technique that involves scheduling several shorter watering cycles in the same day allowing 20-30 minutes in between.  This not only reduces runoff but also allows time for water infiltration.  Remember to fertilize appropriately, increase mowing height to shade the roots, and leave grass clippings.

Take care of your trees.

It is important to actively water your trees separately and not assume they are getting what they need when watering the rest of your yard. Watering your grass isn’t watering your trees and watering the trunk of a tree also isn’t really watering your tree. The edge of a tree’s canopy, or drip line, and outward should dictate where you water the ground to reach the most effective roots. Concentrating the water at the drip line of trees is precisely where it is needed. Water trees deeply and slowly.

If we pass 4-6 weeks without at least an inch of rain, established trees need water. Trees younger than two years in the ground need water every 1-2 weeks, depending on the soil, weather, and species of tree. Place a bubbler, a small sprinkler, or a soaker hose at the dripline of the tree and water for at least half an hour or more with a low flow of water. Don’t forget your shrubs, which also need this kind of attention. Remember, it seems counter intuitive, but fruit and nut trees need extra water this month to start creating fruit buds for the following year.

Heat loving options for your vegetable garden.

For veggie options in August, add transplants of tomatoes and peppers early in the month, but plant your last round of beans, cucumbers, and squash later in the month, using varieties that produce in 60 days or less. Water all new plants daily until they get established. Plant pumpkins in early August too. Get the 90-day variety so you have something spooky to carve by Halloween. Other great heat-loving vegetable crops to plant in August are cucumber, eggplant, lima beans, black‑eye peas, peppers, and squash. Okra loves our Texas heat and is abundant now through frost. Harvest okra pods frequently before they get too big; overgrown okra is tough and stringy. Beat the squirrels by harvesting tomatoes when they just start to show some color, even just a tiny bit. Bring the fruit inside the house to finish ripening on a table or a countertop.  Keep peppers and eggplants growing strong with a regular supply of moisture and a dose of water-soluble fertilizer every two weeks; they love fall weather and will produce right up until frost.

Keep evaporation in mind.

Any time you water, keep evaporation loss in mind and only water early in the morning or late in the evening. Consider investing in soaker hoses and/or a drip system instead of sprinklers. These systems deliver water right to your plants’ roots, where it’s needed most. This saves on the water bill and reduces the chances of fungal disease on the plants.

Bring colorful blooms to your fall garden.

Add fall bloomers toward the end of the month, and make sure to water as needed. It isn’t too late to set out another planting of many warm-season annuals, such as marigolds, zinnias and periwinkles. They will require extra attention for the first few weeks, but should provide you with color during late September, October and November. For cool-season options, sow seeds of snapdragons, dianthus, pansies, calendulas and other cool-season flowers in flats, or in well-prepared areas of the garden, for planting outside during mid-to-late fall. Sow wildflower seed, especially bluebonnets for blooms next spring.

Prune, deadhead and weed to stay ahead.

Prune out dead or diseased wood from trees and shrubs. Hold off on major pruning from now until midwinter. Severe pruning at this time will only stimulate tender new growth prior to frost. Deadhead flowers as needed and remove spent blooms and seed pods from Crape Myrtles for continued bloom. Keep weeding, being careful not to let plants go to seed.

Prepare rosebushes for fall flowers.

A late-summer pruning of rosebushes can be beneficial. Prune roses back by one-third to encourage fall blooms. Prune out dead canes and any weak, brushy growth. Cut back tall, vigorous bushes to about 30 inches. After pruning, apply fertilizer and water thoroughly. If a preventive disease-control program has been maintained, your rose bushes should be ready to provide an excellent crop of flowers this fall.

Patrol for pests.

Be on the lookout for spider mites, aphids and white flies; these are best discouraged as opposed to treating once you have them. Populations can become so great that the plants must be eliminated so that you can prepare for a fall planting. Again, the heat has assisted with the explosion of these populations. Blast water on the undersides of leaves to remove spider mites and aphids. Fall webworms start to appear this month. Use a pole or blast of water to break open the webbing to allow birds and wasps access to the caterpillars. Watch for tree borers and spot treat with horticultural oil. Avoid getting the oil on leaves. Watch for grubs, chinch bugs and fire ants and treat as needed.

Apply a soil activator.

If you find that water runs off the soil and doesn’t soak in easily, apply a soil activator to help improve soil permeability. As the heat persists you may need to adjust your watering schedule depending on your soil and weather conditions. Rocky soil will dry out much faster than heavy clay. Your finger is your best moisture meter: dig down as deeply as you can to feel the soil around the roots before watering.

Cover all bare soil with mulch.

If you haven’t done so already, be sure all bare soil is covered with mulch, or compost with mulch on top. Avoid putting mulch or compost too close or onto trunks or stems. Pine straw is a good option, as it allows water to easily seep through, while maintaining a cooler ground temperature.

Order spring bulbs now

Make your selections and place orders for spring-flowering bulbs now so that they will arrive in time for planting in October and November. It is time to divide spring-flowering perennials, such as iris, Shasta daisy, oxeye, gaillardia, cannas, day lilies, violets, liriope and ajuga.

Pick flowers, seed heads to get more blooms.

Picking flowers/seed heads frequently encourages most annuals and perennials, Crape Myrtles, Pride of Barbados, etc. to flower even more abundantly.

Continue spraying all plants with seaweed.

Seaweed, with all its trace elements and hormones, helps plants combat stress. Spray once a week on and under the leaves, early morning or late evening (never in the middle of the day).

Release Trichogramma wasps.

If you have pecan trees, release Trichogramma wasps now to reduce damage from fall webworms. These parasitic wasps are tiny and stingless, and they attack the eggs of webworms and other pests. Since there can be three to four generations of webworms in Central Texas each year, try releasing Trichogramma wasps in late April to early May, again in mid-June, and again in early August. The population of webworms in August is usually the most damaging, so you may even want to release three rounds of the wasps, two weeks apart, starting in early August.

Garden Tips courtesy of The Natural Gardener and Texas AgriLife Extension.