August Gardening in the Low Desert

This is one of the most uncomfortable months in the low desert. Night- time temperatures hover in the eighties or above and daytime temperatures mostly over 100 degrees with humidity...not exactly the best conditions for gardening...but, there are some chores you can and should do before the month elapses.

We pruned all the palms in the garden, pruned and laced the olive trees and pulled out the remainder of the vegetable garden. One sack of manure will be spread and dug into each raised bed, followed by a deep watering and then covered with plastic. Irrigation has been shut down. This method allows the beds to rest and revitalize before the fall planting season.

If you still need to garden, why not stay inside and give additional care to your houseplants? They, too, crave attention! I have already planned the fall vegetable garden and have sketched out plans that include rotation of plants: Each year, I plant chard, lettuce, carrots and other vegetables in a different location. I have compiled my seed list and plan to get an early start by planting seeds in flats before transferring to raised beds. The only plants that don't seem to care are tomatoes, strawberries and peas, which are always grown in the same beds.

One other chore you need to do is check on your irrigation system often - and , for the natives and cacti that are not irrigated, just look at them and they'll tell you when they need a drink! Ocotillos are still magnificent, even when they lack leaves, but non native cacti sometimes need assistance. If they start to look withered and thin, they will quickly respond to a heavy spray of water...a simulated "flash flood" applied directly to the plant. Their roots are shallow but widespread and they will slurp up any water available to them. The spines direct the water and allow it to spread. Some even water creosote every now and then, but I enjoy the seasonal change they undergo. Lack of water never killed a creosote plant!