August Garden To-Do List

To be fair, August is a slow month for Central Texas Gardens. The heat makes it a good time to let your plants rest and use the time to plan for fall. If you plan on growing vegetables, however, this is prime time for planting certain seeds and plants.

Plant These Seeds In August

-Vegetables: Okra, black-eyed peas, New Zealand and Malabar spinach, winter squash. Beans, corn, cucumber, garlic, potatoes, shallot, summer squash.

-Herbs: Mexican mint marigold, mints, oregano, rosemary, sage, wormwood

-Annuals: Blue daze, celosias (cockscomb or plume), zinnia.

-Perennials: Ornamental grasses

Plants should be given bright sun, but shade in the hottest afternoon sun. If you keep your plants in pots, bring them inside during peak heat, or create shade in your yard.

What Else Should You Be Doing?

-Water Deeply

Concentrate on the trees in you yard. Anytime we have 4-6 weeks without much rain, even mature trees need to be watered well. Place a soaker hose near the tree's drip line and let the water soak in for 30 minutes to an hour. Remember to follow San Antonio's watering regulations! Rocky, Hill Country soil will dry out much faster than other soil.

-Conserve Water

Water early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid evaporation. And water more at the base of the plant when possible - water left on leaves in the hot sun can actually burn your plants.

encourage new blooms.