OUTDOOR NEWSLETTER

In August do not forget the watering tips we gave you in the last letter. August is hot and dry month for your plants. Keep up the good work and we will start to feel it cooling off in late September and the watering will be cut in half then. Now is a good time to mulch your plants and help you cut back on watering, the mulch helps hold in water.

September is a good time to pick gourds for winter decorations before the first frost. Lawns should be sown now. A fall sown lawn will be better able to deal with weeds and drought than a spring sown lawn the next year. There will also be less watering for you in the fall on a fall sown lawn. It is also time to fertilize your trees, shrubs, perennials, and fruit giving plants again. It is good to give your deciduous plants extra help before they go dormant for the winter and your evergreen plants need the extra help because they never stop growing even in the winter. You should not have to water in the winter but because evergreens do not stop growing you will need to watch them, if they look like they are turning brown and we have not had rain and the ground is dry, you many need to water your plants.

For more gardening tips visit: http://extension.missouri.edu/bollinger/ Greater Southeast Master Gardeners