Lawn and garden tips for August
Clemson University
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR IN AUGUST
Lawns
Lawn diseases: Continue watching for problems with brown patch and dollar spot in warm season grasses, especially if you had problems with one of them last year.
Chinch bugs: Watch for chinch bugs in your warm season lawn.
White grubs: The bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis does a nice job on Japanese Beetle grubs, but it does take a little time to build up in the soil. Bacillus thuringiensis does not, however, control other types of grubs.
Mole crickets: Inspect warm season lawns for mole crickets this month. Eliminating these critters requires diligent work in June, July and early August.
Spittle bugs: Watch for spittlebugs in warm season lawns and on hollies.
Trees and shrubs
Bag worms: Bag worms can kill a tree if it is heavily infested. Inspect your trees periodically; bagworms seem to like juniper, arborvitae and pines, but they are will attack many broadleaf shrubs and trees such as rose, sycamore, maple, elm and black locust.. Hand-picking light infestations works well; applying the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis will also take care of the problem.
Oakworms: These pesky little critters will strip the leaves from a 5-foot oak tree in two to three days. Spraying carbaryl (Sevin, etc.) will take care of them quickly. (You cannot effectively treat a large tree, but if you see them on lower branches and can safely spray them that will certainly not hurt). Observe all label precautions on mixing and use. Do not use dusts due to the problem with application; a spray made using the liquid form of the product will work fine. The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Dipel, etc.) will also control oakworms and will not affect predatory insects.
Webworms – Fall webworms should be appearing in pecan trees in mid- to late-August. Controlling the bottom third of the tree will be quite effective, even though we cannot reach the upper areas. Carbaryl (Sevin, etc.) is a good product for this. Observe all label precautions on mixing and use. Do not use dusts due to the problem with application; a spray made using the liquid form of the product will work fine.
Vegetables
Garden insects: Keep an eye out for cucumber beetle, and squash vine borer in the garden.
Blossom end rot: Check your tomatoes for blossom end rot on the fruit as it begins to form. This is usually an indication of a calcium deficiency. Place a handful of gypsum (land plaster) in the soil beside the tomato at planting (or later) to prevent this. Foliar sprays such as blossom end rot spray will also help alleviate the problem. Nothing will heal the fruit with rot on it, so remove and discard them.
THINGS TO DO IN AUGUST
Fruits
Spray fruit trees: Continue spraying your fruit trees with a fungicide (Captan, etc.) every seven to 10 days to provide the beautiful fruit you look forward to. Do not use any insecticides on the trees until less than 10 percent of the blooms remain; you certainly do not want to hurt your bee pollinators. The fungicide will have no effect on them. After the blooms have fallen you may begin to also spray malathion insecticide.
Lawns
Lawn fertilizer: You should apply a complete fertilizer to warm season lawns this month.
Fire ants: If you have not yet broadcast fire ant baits apply your first treatment any time this month. Be sure to apply fresh bait, and do it at the correct time of day (fire ants only forage actively when the ground temperature is between 70 and 95 degrees F).
Aeration: Fall is a great time to aerate cool season lawns such as fescue. Warm-season lawns (centipede, zoysia, Bermuda, St. Augustine) should be aerated in the spring and summer.
Irrigation: Your irrigation cycle is going strong. One inch per week is the appropriate amount for most lawns and vegetables (except sweet corn and yellow squash, which may require up to 2 inches depending on growth stage). Include rainfall in this amount. And make sure that you adjust your water applications with plant growth stage and time of year; one size definitely does not fit all for the entire year.
Trees and shrubs
Pruning: Now is another good time to prune most trees and shrubs. July and August are the months to prune azalea, dogwood, forsythia, redbud and rhododendron. They should be pruned after they bloom, but before bloom set in the fall. Oakleaf hydrangea and late-flowering azalea cultivars might also be considered now. Avoid any pruning in the spring and fall if at all possible.
Plan ahead: If you plan to plant some trees or shrubs this year, begin thinking about which plants you would like now, and find retailers that carry those varieties. You have plenty of time, but you certainly do not want to miss your favorite at the last minute.
Pecan weevils: Pecan weevils are those little critters that make holes in your pecans. Start treating for pecan weevils the first week of August, and continue treating once per week for six weeks. Place 5 ounces of liquid carbaryl (Sevin, etc.) in 10 gallons or more of water and spray the entire area under the tree, from trunk out to dripline. Repeat this for each tree. You will need to do this two years in a row to get rid of the pesky critters.
Vegetables
Garden clean-up: Half the tomato disease battle in a vegetable garden is sanitation. As tomatoes end their production remove them from the garden and take them to a landfill.
Vegetables: Some planting times for more common vegetables:
Collards: July 1-Aug. 30
Snap beans: Aug. 1-15
Half-runners: Aug. 1-15
Lettuce: Aug. 15-25