July Gardening Tips for the Northeast
Keep your vegetable garden well watered during hot, dry spells. It's best to give most plants about an inch of water a week.
If you irrigate your vegetable garden, avoid doing so in late afternoon or evening. Give the moisture a chance to evaporate before the temperatures start to drop. Also: Avoid getting foliage wet whenever possible, especially on disease-prone species such as tomatoes and squash.
Don't allow vegetables to rot on the vines -- or fall off and decompose in the soil. Fallen fruit attracts pests and can harbor disease.
Pinch basil periodically if you don't harvest it weekly. Pinching keeps it from flowering and ensure you have a full, bushy-looking plant.
If you want fresh, baby potatoes, begin digging them when the plants start to produce blooms. Otherwise wait a little longer until the potato plant begins to turn brown.
If you see white butterflies are flitting among your vegetables, you'll soon spot green worms feasting on cabbage family crops (cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts). Treat plants with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a natural bacterium. Caterpillars consume Bt when they munch on treated leaves, and the bacteria kill them.
If you're dealing with flea beetles or Mexican bean beetles on vegetables, dust crops with a pesticide such carbaryl or spray an organic control like pyrethrum. Be sure to coat leaf undersides.
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