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Planning/Maintenance/ Activities
Early morning is the best time to water vegetable and 4lower gardens to reduce evaporation. Water the soil, rather than leaves to reduce disease. Water deeply and infrequently to encourage root growth.
Keep newly established plants watered during dry weather. New plants should receive 1 to 1 ½ inches of water every week to 10 days.
Good watering methods will help plants 4lourish in spite of the hot weather. Check plants frequently and water enough to get water to the root zone. Avoid overwatering and saturating the soil, which encourages root rot.
Hanging baskets need careful attention to watering and feeding during extended periods of hot weather.
Check container plants frequently for watering needs.
Stake tall-‐growing 4lowering plants such as delphinium, hollyhocks, and lupine. Stake tomatoes, as necessary.
Do not fertilize trees or shrubs, especially fruit trees, after mid-‐July. Fertilizing encourages new growth that will not harden off in time to avoid winter injury.
Make compost of lawn clippings and garden plants that are ready to be recycled. Do not use clipping if lawn has been treated with herbicide, including “weed-‐and-‐feed” products. Do not compost diseased plants unless you are using the “hot compost” method (120 degrees to 150 degrees Fahrenheit).
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Apply mulch around young plants to help conserve soil moisture and control weeds.
Pest Monitoring & Management
Remove cankered limbs from fruit and nut trees for control of diseases such as apple anthracnose and bacterial canker of stone fruit. Sterilize tools before each new cut.
Control hollyhock rust by sanitation, picking affected leaves or spraying with a registered fungicide. Read and follow label directions.
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JULY
Spider mites can become a problem on ornamental plants, vegetables, and fruit plants during hot, dry weather. Watch for dusty-‐looking foliage, loss of color, and presence of tiny mites. Washing infested areas with water or spray with appropriate pesticides, following all label directions.
Observe fruit trees for pests; treat accordingly.
Lawn
Many Kittitas County trees are plagued by “lawn-‐mower blight”. Be careful to avoid nicking tree trunks while mowing.
When watering lawns, apply 1 – 1 ½ inches of water in a single application per week. Frequent, light sprinklings will encourage roots to stay shallow, making them more susceptible to drought.
❖ The surest ways to determine when to water a lawn are to feel the soil in the root zone and to observe the appearance of the grass. Sign of excessive dryness include blue-‐green to grey-‐green leaf color, failure of leaves to spring back when pressed down, and lack of dew formation.
Don’t mow your lawn in the same direction every time. Vary your path so that the turf and soil don’t form compacted mower ruts.
Sod webworms can become established during this month. Because the turf is already under stress in summer, damage can be signiUicant. Look closely for small, buff-‐colored moths or spotted caterpillars in the lawn. When found in large numbers (several per square foot), apply an insecticide that is labeled for sod webworms according to label directions.
Do not remove clippings from the lawn unless grass is excessively tall or weedy. Clippings return some nutrients to the soil.
Woody Landscape Plants & Fruit Trees
Deep water trees and shrubs during hot weather The goal of deep watering is to achieve penetration of water to a depth of at least 3 feet for mature trees. The soil surrounding the plant’s roots, called
the “root zone,” serves as a storage tank from which the plant draws moisture and nutrients. Most trees and shrubs shed rain water to the “drip line,” much
like an umbrella. The most active water absorption area is at the drip line and beyond, not close to the trunk. This is where you should water. Most of the roots spread 1 1\2 to 4 times as wide as the plant’s canopy.
Continue deep watering berries and fruit trees every week.
Remove water sprouts (sprouts from the trunk) and suckers (sprouts from the roots) from fruit trees.
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Continue fruit tree spray program to keep diseases and insects under control in accordance with label directions.
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Prop up branches of fruit trees that are heavily loaded with fruit.
Flowers, Vegetables and Small Fruit
Remove spent 4lowers and pinch back leggy foliage from annuals and perennials to promote bushier growth and more 4lowers.
The foliage of spring-‐4lowering bulbs can be removed safely after it fades. This also is a good time to lift the bulbs for transplanting or propagation.
Cut rose blooms back to the 4irst set of 4ive lea4let leaves after blooming to encourage
stronger canes and more 4lowers.
Divide and replant iris. Discard any plants showing signs of insects or disease. Iris should be divided every 3 to 5 years.
Harvest summer squash while small and tender for best quality.
Watch for early and late blight on tomatoes. Correct by pruning for air circulation, picking off affected leaves, and or treat with approved fungicide, following the label directions.
Broccoli will form edible side shoots after the main head is removed.
Harvest strawberries and raspberries.
After berries are done producing, weed, fertilize, compost and cultivate.
Strawberries -‐ Following harvest, the beds can be renovated. This is largely a thinning process to prevent overcrowding caused by the rooting of too many runner plants.
❖ To renovate your strawberry patch, mow the foliage off the tops of the plants. Mow just above the crown.
❖ Be careful that the crowns are not damaged. ❖ Dig and replant rooted runners in bare spots.
Raspberries -‐ cut back old canes.
Make sure potato tubers, carrot shoulders and onion bulbs are covered with soil to prevent development of green color and off 4lavors. Applying a layer of mulch will help keep them covered.
Harvest onions. Leave bulb onions in the ground until the tops fall over. Once the tops fall over, lift the bulbs but leave them in the garden to dry for 2-‐3 weeks. The tops will help protect the bulbs from the sun. Brush dirt from the skins and bring indoors to store in a cool, ventilated, dry place.
Harvest garlic. Before harvesting, dig up a plant to check the bulb. It should have skins formed around each clove and can be easily pulled apart from the center stem. The garlic should be hung in a dry shelter or room with good air circulation in a netted (onion) bag or laid on a screen or rack, in order to cure and dry. Brush off any excess dirt with a toothbrush and trim the roots.
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Gardening in Kittitas County
Gardening in Kittitas County presents many challenges and opportunities. While there are ample days of sunshine and nights that meet and exceed plants’ chilling requirements, there are extremes of heat in the summer and cold in the winter. Wind is a constant in all parts of the county and snow depth is a factor, especially in the higher elevations. Add to this the fact that Eastern Washington has an arid climate and most plants require additional regular watering, especially while becoming established. Last, but certainly not least, are the pests that prefer ones’ garden and orchard to their natural diet and would ravage these if homeowners did not use special precautions against them.
Kittitas County, not unlike many counties in Washington, has differences within the county with respect to rainfal l , e levat ion, and temperature. Therefore, the length of growing season is different depending on location. While the ground may be workable in Ellensburg (lower county) at the beginning of April, it may still be covered in a foot of snow in Roslyn (upper county). While the lower county may require minimum winter protection for most crops, upper county requires maximum protection for most perennials that do not naturally grow there.
At higher elevations such as Ronald (2,349 feet), the average growing season is 90 days with last frosts in early June (approximately June 9th) and Uirst frosts in early September (approximately September 2nd); In Cle Elum (1,930 feet), the average growing season is 90 to 120 days with last frosts in late May (approximately May 24th) and Uirst frosts in the middle of September (approximately September 11th). Cle Elum receives about 22” of rain on average. At lower elevations such as Ellensburg (1,542 feet), conditions are much drier and frost-‐free days are longer. The average growing season in Ellensburg is about 120 days with last frosts in early May (approximately May 11th) and Uirst frosts around the end of September (approximately September 25th).
Ronald, Rosyln, and Cle Elum are rated USDA Zone 4 (-‐30ºF minimum temperature) while Ellensburg is rated at USDA Zone 5 (-‐20°F. minimum).
The authors of this e-‐book are using techniques deemed necessary for their particular region within Kittitas County. The reader’s to do list will
be speciUic to their area and their particular climate. Be sure to check resources provided to determine speciUic climate area.
This calendar is a compilation of many sources of information. Many thanks for the outstanding guidance provided by: Washington State University Extension, Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, The Morton Arboretum, Oregon State University Extension and many others as evidenced by the extensive use of hyperlinks.
By Laura Stanley and Barbara Raabe Kittitas County Master Gardener
WSU Extension bulletins contain material written and produced for public distribution. Alternate formats of our educational materials are available upon request for persons with disabilities. Please contact Washington State University Extension for more information.
You may download copies of this and other publications from WSU Extension at http://pubs.wsu.edu.
Extension programs and policies are consistent with federal and state laws and regulations on nondiscrimination regarding race, sex, religion, age, color, creed, and national or ethnic origin; physical, mental, or sensory disability; marital status or sexual orientation; and status as a Vietnam-‐era or disabled veteran. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local WSU Extension ofUice. Trade names have been used to simplify information; no endorsement is intended.
For more information: Contact the Master Gardener Diagnostic Clinic
May through September
WSU Extension OfUice 901 E 7th Avenue, Suite 2 Ellensburg, WA 98926
Phone (509) 962-‐7507
http://www.kittitas.wsu.edu
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