Summer Garden Clean-Up
With travel still limited this summer, backyards across the country have become even more precious. Anyone with the luxury of their own space is making staycation plans which can range from no impact to high impact activities. You can read a book on a hammock, enjoy refreshing dips in the inground or kiddie pool, tend to a vegetable garden or just hang out at night under the stars. But as we all know, nothing worth having comes easy. Every backyard needs some maintenance. Here are a few easy tasks that can make all the difference:
Deadhead
Deadheading is an important but often forgotten part of garden maintenance. Removing a dead flower head ensures further growth. In fact, annuals, and repeat-flowering shrubs and perennials will offer more colour, more often during the season if you deadhead.
Weed
One of the most unpleasant tasks in yard cleanup, weeding keeps your yard looking its best. As plants fill out in early summer, the shade they produce should diminish weed growth a little bit. But don’t let up, one weed left to grow will seed quickly into many. You may have noticed, the best time to weed is in the early morning hours when the sun is not at full strength.
Harvest Your Produce
Much like deadheading flowers, vegetables like tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers that keep producing all summer need to be picked regularly as they ripen. Allowing your produce to overgrow slows production, and may spell the end of the season for these plants.
Manage Pests
Of course, you aren’t the only one enjoying your yard. Bugs, slugs and other critters will also find refuge in your garden paradise. Some are good, but unfortunately, some may need to be removed. Get to know, invite and protect the good bugs, like bees, ladybugs, praying mantis and spiders. Dissuade slugs and aphids from getting cozy in your garden paradise.
