This issue features July gardening tips for fruits and nuts and cool- and warm-season lawns.
Fruits and nuts
Once harvest is complete, prune and discard old fruiting branches of raspberries and blackberries. Keep an eye out for diseased branches and plants.
Blackberries are starting to ripen and it's time to prepare for harvest.
Inspect your peach trees for brown rot. Setting up a preventative spray schedule can help keep diseases and pests at bay. For more information, see MU Extension guide g6010, Fruit Spray Schedules for Homeowners, at https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g6010.
Grape netting to protect the fruit from birds.
A second treatment of the peach tree trunk against peach bark beetles may be necessary.
To keep birds away from fruit trees, try a variety of scare tactics, including fake snakes, owls, scarecrow crows, pie plates and wind chimes.
June-bearing strawberries require summer care: if planted in a hill, remove any runners; if planted in a mat, encourage the runners to root and grow until the row is 2 feet wide.
Harvesting of early peaches, pears and apples begins.
Cool-season grasses (tall fescue and/or Kentucky bluegrass)
In Missouri, heavy applications of nitrogen fertilizer should be avoided on cool-season lawns in July. Use up to 0.5 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet on nitrogen-deficient cool-season lawns.
Water as needed. Water infrequently, to a depth of 4 to 6 inches. Avoid puddles and runoff. Do not overwater, as overwatering can encourage fungal growth, which is worse than drought stress. Tall fescue can tolerate and recover from drought stress. For more information, see MU Extension guide g6705 Cool-Season Grasses: Lawn Maintenance Calendar at https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g6705.
Fast-growing grasses require frequent mowing, and mowing at a height of about 3.5 to 4 inches will reduce the chance of the grass detaching.
Inspect your lawn for webworm damage and treat any you find.
Mulch your grass clippings. Only remove them if there is too much and they are covering the lawn canopy.
Warm-season grass (Zoysiagrass)
Fertilize your lawn with 0.5 pound of nitrogen (N) per 1,000 square feet.
Check for chinch bug and billbug damage. For more information, see this MEG newsletter article, “Issues with Zoysiagrass Lawns” (https://ipm.missouri.edu/meg/2012/4/Issues-with-Zoysiagrass-Lawns/).
Mow frequently, about once a week, to a height of 1 to 2 inches.
Zoysiagrass is more drought tolerant than cool-season turfgrasses and does not require watering except during extended dry periods.
Source: Missouri Botanical Garden
Dr. Dhruva Dhakal is a University of Missouri Extension horticulturist who has been serving Missourians in mid-Missouri for nearly a decade. Dhakal can be reached at [email protected] Gardening questions.
