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, Wednesday, July 31
- Saturday-Sunday: Moon in the sign of Gemini - Harvest, weed, cultivate and control pests
- Be on the lookout for Budworms on Petunias, Geraniums, and flowering Tobacco plants. A sign of a budworm problem is holes in the flower petals progressing to the point that the plants stop flowering. It's a green worm that blends into the foliage but up close is visible to the naked eye. You control Budworms by giving them a fatal case of the stomach flu with Bt or with Spinosad.
Later in the Week
- Monday/Tuesday: Moon in the sign of Cancer - Prune, compost water and fertilize
- To avoid fertilizer burn during the summer, water your plants the day before or at least four hours before and immediately afterward.
- Perennials should be cut back when they finished blooming. This would include Mexican Evening Primrose, Penstemon, Lavenders and others. To add color to these areas plant Vinca Rosea, Portucala, Salvia and others.
Other Things To-do
- The best time of the day to water is in the morning hours with a rising temperature.
- With maturing fruits like apples, peaches, nectarines, and others, support the bending branches with 2 x 4's. The supports are placed under the branches where they begin to bend. Also, removing those fruits ripening at the end of the branches will reduce the weight and help prevent the limbs from breaking.