Beaver Valley Probus Club

Here are the things to do for your garden in July 2020. Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar by John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario. For more information, or your own copy of the 11” x 17” calendar of the full year’s tips, please contact John.

• Watch for the Japanese beetle on your Lilies, Roses, Rose of Sharon, Dahlias, Hollyhocks, and numerous other plants. Handpicking and squeezing, combined with a beetle trap, are the most efficient way to limit these ravaging critters. Some lily gardeners have given up and pulled out their real Lilies (Lilium). Luckily, the little red devils don’t eat Day Lilies (Hemerocallis)
• Watch for earwigs. Spray plants with a 40:1 mixture of water and dish soap.
• Ants are also a problem. The ant powder does not seem to work for me. Maybe they didn’t read the instructions to take it back to their nest. Boiling water works, but will burn the grass in a lawn.  
• Trim evergreens, cedar hedges, etc., as needed.
• Pinch back and/or stake straggly annuals and perennials.
• Raise lawn mower blades for summer mowing. (Grass should be at least 5 - 7.5 cm (2 to 3 inches) high to stay healthy and weed free.)
• Prune spring flowering shrubs after blooming, like Forsythia and Spirea. If you really want to be picky, remove spent lilac blooms.
• Try a second round of weeding and add mulch again to keep the weeds at bay.
• Mulch your tomato plants. Then, when a ripe tomato falls to the ground, it won’t get muddy.
• Thin, hoe, weed and water vegetables as required. This is why I stick to flowers.
• This has been a cold and wet April and May and now little rain in June & forecast for July. Tackle weeds before they go to seed.
• Stake tall perennials that may be weakened by too rapid growth.
• Turn compost regularly and check moisture level - not too wet, not too dry. Like Goldilocks, just right.

A big thank you to everyone who turned out for our COVID Plant Sale at St. George’s, the Anglican Parish for the Blue Mountains, in Clarksburg. It opened at 7 am and by 10:20, the 637 potted plants were all gobbled up! Next year’s sale (hopefully NON-COVID) is set for Saturday May 29 2021. See you there.

 John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario
More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Shown above is a marvellous Agapanthus plant in the Hethrington's garden.
This is a South African plant that Fred Young had much success with and gave one to them!