What to do in your garden during August
In winter rainfall regions follow the tips beneath as a basic maintenance guide for your garden this August.
Plant and Sow
Annuals
Wait until next month to sow summer-flowering annuals.
Vegetables
Sow vegetables like:
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Allium cepa (Onions)
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Raphanus sativus (Radishes)
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Lycopersicon esculentum (Tomatoes)
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Cucurbita pepo var. pepo (Gem squash)
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Lactuca sativa (Lettuce)
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Daucus carota (Carrots)
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Cucumis sativus (Cucumbers)
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Capsicum annuum var. longum, C. var. annuum (Sweet peppers)
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Brassica campestris var. rapa (Turnips)
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Beta vulgaris var. cicla (Chard, Swiss chard)
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Allium porrum (Leeks)
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Brassica oleracea var. coulorapa (Kohlrabi)
Bulbs
Start planting summer-flowering bulbs:
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Canna Species (Indian shot)
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Tulbaghia violacea (Wild garlic)
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Zephyranthes candida (Fairy lily, white rain lily)
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Tigridia pavonia x hybrids (Mexican shell flower, tiger flower)
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Sprekelia formosissima (Maltese cross, Aztec lily, Jacobean lily)
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Polianthes tuberosa x hybrids (Tuberose)
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Ornithogalum candicans (Berg lily, white berg lily)
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Nerine bowdenii (Giant nerine, large pink nerine)
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Merwilla plumbea (Blue squill, blue hyacinth)
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Hymenocallis narcissiflora x hybrids (Spider lily)
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Eucomis autumnalis (Pineapple lily)
Garden Maintenance
Fertilize
- Fertilize fruit trees, like apples, apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums and quinces.
- Fertilize Summer-flowering bulbs and keep them moist.
General Gardening Maintenance
- Mow the lawn if necessary.
- Mulch the garden beds.
- Start planning the summer garden now.
- Remember to deadhead annuals and bedding plants regularly and feed every 2 weeks or so with diluted liquid fertilizer.
- Pull up spent winter annuals and vegetables and prepare the soil for new planting.
- Continue to remove weeds from lawns and pavings.
- Dead, diseased and damaged wood from deciduous trees and shrubs can be removed.
August maintenance tips on watering, pruning,
pests and disease, fertilizing and much more visit our countrywide maintenance guide.