Ask an Expert – How does your garden grow? Tips for July

It can be a challenge to keep gardens growing well as summer heats up, so Utah State University Extension’s Gardener’s Almanac provides a checklist of tasks to help your garden, grass and plants grow well in July. Also included are links for tips and further information.

July Checklist

  • Start enjoying the tomato harvest.
  • Side dress (fertilize) potatoes in the garden with nitrogen in early July.
  • Harvest summer squash and zucchini when they are still small and tender.
  • Deep water established trees and shrubs about once per month during the heat of summer.
  • Deadhead (cut off) spent blossoms of perennial and annual flowers.
  • Divide crowded iris or daylilies once they have finished blooming.
  • Visit alpine areas for wildflower displays.
  • Remove water sprouts (vertical shoots in the canopy) of fruit trees to discourage regrowth and to reduce shading.
  • Renovate perennial strawberry beds by tearing out old crowns (mother plants) and applying fertilizer to stimulate new runners.
  • Turfgrass only needs 1 ½ to 2 inches of irrigation per week. Click here to learn about irrigation needs in your area.

Pests and Problems

  • If tomatoes are not producing, it could be due to hot weather (95°F and above), which causes flower abortion.
  • Blossom end rot  (black sunken areas on the end of tomatoes) is common and is caused by uneven watering.
  • Check under leaves of pumpkins, melons and squash plants for squash bugs.
  • Treat corn for corn earworm.
  • Spider mites prefer dry, hot weather and affect many plants. Treat for spider mites by using “softer” solutions such as spraying them with a hard stream of water or by using an insecticidal soap. Spider mites can be identified by shaking leaves over a white piece of paper. If the small specs move, you have mites.
  • Control codling moth in apples and pears to reduce wormy fruit. For specific timing, see our Utah Pests Advisories.
  • Historically, control of the greater peach tree borer in peaches, nectarines and apricots occurs the first of July. However, for specific timing, see our Utah Pests Advisories.
  • Click here for instructions on how to submit a sample to the Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Lab.
  • Watch for symptoms of turfgrass diseases.
  • Monitor for damaging turfgrass insects.

To see a video on the July Gardener’s Almanac tips, click here.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.