Summer Gardening....June

 Here in the southwest of the United States summer hit weeks ago!  I missed the cutoff to plant Corsican Mint as a ground cover for my yard especially my front yard, seen here on the right.  Corsican Mint is a great ground cover for places like the southwest, it is hardy and drought tolerant.  I am not a fan of the landscape rocking that goes on here in the SW....it sucks in the sun all day then radiates all evening and night making everything around it warmer...blah!  Not to mention, just lacks color, pizazz and if one weed shows up in the rocks...watch out for that HOA (home owners association).

So now that I am passed the ability to plant some ground cover right now or most other plants for that matter.  It is maintenance, care, nurture and pest control during these hot summer days and nights.



Onward...tally ho...brace for the dog days of summer gardening...

Here are some tips for summer:

• Water: outdoor potted plants need water twice a day, water everything else deeply
 
• Prune: dead head shrubs and trees, remove any damaged wood.
 
• Fertilize: if you have been composting and spreading that all over your beds and garden, extra fertilizer isn't absolutely necessary.  However if you are trying to bring up the nutrients in your soil get organic fertilizer to use on all planting areas.
 
• Pest Control: summer is the time for pests... use food grade diatomacous earth for fleas, ticks, and chiggers (I even put it on my dogs) and/or release beneficial nematodes, release tichogramma wasps for bagworms
 
• Plant: there are some summer planting. pumpkins for October, palms, cacti, fall tomatoes, desert trees, bermuda grass, lantana, amaranthus, bougainvillea
 
• Extras: if you have grass leave clippings on it instead of raking up they feed your lawn and retain moisture, de-thatch lawn, add mulch to all bare soil, check irrigation

Some pest other tips:

 
• Vinegar 20% grade for weeds: I do not mix with water but I sometimes add Orange Oil 2 oz per 16 oz vinegar.
• Gin Weed Control: 1 oz gin 1 oz apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp. baby shampoo 1 quart water
• Alcohol Weed control: 1 quart water 1 to 5 tbsp of rubbing alcohol
• Outdoor Ant Control 1 to 2 gallons of boiling hot water pour on ant hole
• Indoor Ant Control 1 tbsp boric acid 1 tbsp mint jelly or peanut butter 1 cracker small cardboard box. Put holes in box put mixture on cracker put in box place box in high ant traffic area but KEEP AWAY from kids and pets...
• Ant Control: little safer option food grade diatomaceous earth use liberally or 1/2 cream of wheat it causes ants to explode
• Cockroach bait: 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup boric acid

What are you planting this summer? 

Do you have any organic gardening, weeding or pest control tips?

Happy Gardening!!!

~Deanne

Next post Global Access Media...I began a post last week about them but apparently I lost it all since well I didn't hit save...if you must really know!!! :-\