Garden tips for July Garden tips for July (July 23, 2004)

Celebrate freedom in the garden

By Jack McKinnon

July is a month to celebrate freedom. We have July 4th for our national holiday and celebrate by attending a parade, having a barbecue and watching fireworks. In our gardens we can celebrate freedom in several ways. This month's tips will include a few of these methods.

Modern technology and new gardening techniques are making progress by leaps and bounds to give us freedom from back strain, weeds, watering problems and fertilizing hassles. Let's take advantage of this freedom we have and bring our gardens to the next level.

1. Install a watering system using the latest technology. New timers and irrigation technology are coming out all the time. The solid-state controllers we have these days have mini computers in them and can make watering quite precise. If you are not handy with irrigation installation, call your local nursery for referrals. They usually have several.

2. Use slow-release fertilizers. Fertilizers are now being made with a coating that dissolves over time and releases the fertilizer slowly. This saves you application times and reduces the risk of burning your plants. Again, ask at your nursery or garden supply store. Be sure to read the whole label on each package before purchasing. This way you will know exactly what your fertilizer can and cannot do.

3. Upgrade your gardening service. If you interview several landscape maintenance contractors, you will find that some can provide better service than others. If you have a good one already, keep that person, who is quite valuable. A good gardener can make your garden a place to relax rather than a project to manage.

4. Shop for labor-saving tools. New ergonomic technology makes digging, hoeing, watering and planting much easier. I like those new foam pads to kneel on when working on a bed. What a relief to not have bruised knees. Catalogs are a great source of new tools. Do a Web search on Google for gardening tools. You can usually sign up for the catalog online.

5. Refresh your mulch to keep weeds down and help retain water. Clear pathways of overhangs and branches that touch you as you go by. You will be amazed at how this makes your garden more accessible.

6. Try not to let your tomatoes fall over. Tomatoes often outgrow the structures we put around them and then we wonder why they don't produce very well. I like to put a cage around each plant with a stake in the middle of the cage. Then I tie branches up as they grow.

7. Don't stress your fruit trees for water. When it gets hot and dry be sure you check your watering systems often to make sure there is plenty of water around the drip line. I would water fruit trees deeply at least twice a week when it is hot.

8. Make an outdoor room and spend some time in it. It can be a living room, dining room, bedroom or kitchen. When the weather is nice and the evenings warm, why not extend your home into the garden?

9. Have a block party. It can be great fun with potlucks, barbecues, water-balloon tossing games, music and raffles.

10. Remember that the key to gardening is being in control. If you plan two or even three seasons ahead, you will inevitably find your garden in bloom more, with bigger and better-tasting produce and generally looking much more like you always wanted it to. It takes some study, some planning and mostly TLC (tender loving care) but if you give to your garden, you will reap the rewards.

Good gardening.

Jack McKinnon worked in the Sunset Magazine gardens for 12 years and has been a private garden coach for six years. He recently started a gardening school, "Garden Talks with Jack McKinnon" in Pescadero, CA. He can be reached at 879-3261, or by e-mail at jcmckinnon@earthlink.net.

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