Get It Growing: Summer steps to a stunning fall garden

By V. Todd Miller

Summer is the best time to just sit back and enjoy your garden. While you’re at it, you can start thinking about fall gardening and planning bigger landscaping projects.

You still need to keep up with watering, occasional fertilizing and weed control (mostly mechanically because chemicals shouldn’t be used in the heat of summer on turfgrass, although they can be used in flowerbeds). But it is best not to take on any extensive landscape updates in the next couple of months. Phew! You’re off the hook.

But if you’re itching to make improvements to your landscape, know that it’s probably best to hold off until cooler days. In general, planting trees and shrubs during the heat of the summer is not recommended. This is not to say that if you do plant in the summertime your plant will definitely die. Rather, it is more of a recommendation to wait until the weather cools in the fall when the plant will have less stress and have a better chance of survival.

Planting in containers is a fine idea any time of year, making it a great way to continue gardening year-round. You will need to water and fertilize container plants more frequently in the summertime. Plants cannot cool themselves in the absence of water and will wilt quickly, as plants transpire to cool themselves just like we sweat. As you water more frequently, you will also flush out more nutrients from the pots as they drain. Use a general-purpose liquid fertilizer every seven to 14 days to help plants along.

Tropical plants do well this time of year too. Right now, you can enjoy those flowering tropicals such as hibiscus, gingers, angel’s trumpet, cannas, Turk’s cap, mandevilla, bougainvillea, coral vine, allamanda, passionflower, giant bird of paradise, esperanza, firecracker plant and hummingbird bush. If you don’t have some of these already, add them to your list and plant them in late September to enjoy next summer.

Existing turfgrass thrives in the summer, demanding frequent cuts with the lawnmower. Laying fresh sod in the summer, though, is a tough call. On one hand, the heat is very stressful on new turf with shallow root systems. However, roots will have more time to become established before they go dormant from November to February in Louisiana.

If you install a new lawn in the summertime, be sure it is watered thoroughly. Keep foot traffic off the sod for one week and water every day in the morning. With the heat, lots of water will be lost to evaporation, causing stress. Avoid watering at night, as the sod will remain wet, encouraging fungal diseases. St. Augustinegrass in particular is extremely susceptible to fungal diseases such as large patch and gray leaf spot. You can cut back on the watering after the first week and move to an every-other-day approach. By week three, you can water twice a week.

While you’re sitting around waiting for cooler days, you can begin planning your fall garden. Now is the time to start ordering vegetable seeds. These will be our cool-season crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, kale, lettuce, mustard greens and root crops such as carrots, beets and radishes. You can plant the transplants as early as mid-August, but our state vegetable specialist suggests waiting until mid-September.

In the meantime, you can still transplant tomatoes and bell peppers for a fall crop. And keep the eggplants and okra going. They should be really producing by now.

Fall is a great time for those larger landscape projects. You can brainstorm ideas now as you wait for the summer heat to wind down. Once the weather cools, planting trees and shrubs becomes a lot more ideal. Your yard is an important part of your home. It’s the first thing people see when looking at your house. Work with licensed landscapers to help select your plant materials and properly install and maintain your yard.

Keep cool in these dog days of summer by staying inside during the heat of the day and drinking plenty of water when you are outside. Make your plans for your fall garden in the cool of central air conditioning. You can also focus on caring for and building your indoor plant collection.