Gardening by the Moon Weekend To-Do
An idea as old as agriculture, based both folklore and superstition but there are scientific ideas to back it up.
- Lunar Phase: New Moon. Friday, August 22
- Saturday-Sunday: Moon in the sign of Gemini - Harvest, weed, and cultivate
- Oxalis and Spotted Spurge are undesirable weeds in turf. These weeds are aggressive growers and produce a large amount of seed. If you ignore them this year, the problem will be much worse next year.
Later in the Week
- Mandavillea is a summer-blooming vine with large, showy flowers. They're easy to care for. All that's needed is to deadhead them, prune for shape, and feed with a high-phosphorus fertilizer.
- Zinnias, Vinca Rosea, and Victorian Salvia are available for planting. When planted now, these annuals continue to bloom until early December or the first very cold night.
Other Things To-do
- Boxwood, Privet, Photinia, and Escallonia should be pruned regularly to keep them compact. Irregular pruning can create gaps in the hedge's symmetrical shape.
- When the Blackberry and Raspberry harvest is complete, it's time to prune the old fruiting canes. These canes are cut back to the ground. From the base of the plant, select the most vigorous canes and attach them to a trellis, as these shoots will produce next year's crop. All other growth should be cut off.