Mark Cullen e-newsletter
Mid-August 2013 
 Gardening with Mark
In This Issue:
Where to Find Mark
Mark's Gardening Connections







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You guys are awesome.

In my July newsletter I asked if you wanted to see a 'mid month' edition of it. Something punchy and 'to the point' that would get you on track with gardening chores and ideas that would expand your mind where garden design is concerned.

We had the largest response ever: 327 in favour and one against. I guess the yes's win [sorry Mary].

Here is your mid August edition. Thanks for your vote of confidence.

 What needs doing in late August in your garden
 

Tomatoes - Tomatoes. They are coming fast now. Furious in a couple more weeks. Find something to do with them as the more you pick the more you will reap [harvest]. That is just a law of nature. The plant, after all, is not producing tomatoes for your pleasure in spite of what you may think. It is trying to reproduce by setting fruit, bringing it to fruition and managing its seed production: this = reproduction. Pick and pick some more. Buy some preserving jars for making pasta sauce and to pickle your cucumbers etc.

- Apples. If your apples look clean and ready to ripen in a manner that would tempt you to eat them, give them two more applications of Green Earth insecticidal soap combined with garden sulphur. Space applications 2 weeks apart. Fingers crossed that this is a record season for apple production where you live. It sure looks good in my orchard compared to last year!

- Tall perennials need staking. Check out my recently posted Youtube video on the subject and don't let your Joe Pye Weed, Rudebeckia and other tall growing perennials get away from you. One day of high winds might just change the look of your entire garden and not for the better.

- Fertilize petunias, geraniums and all other annual flowering plants - not to mention the tropical plants that you placed outdoors for the summer.

 


 
 

healthy lawn - Seed the thin spots in your lawn. Spread 3 cm of triple mix over the area, then the Golfgreen grass seed, rake smooth, step on the works to firm it in place and water well. Best time of year to do this.

- Apply Golfgreen fertilizer to your lawn for a great autumn. Plan on one more application late in fall.

- Dig and divide German iris. Best time of year for it. Cut the leaves on an acute angle to prevent water from sitting up on the cut portion of the leaf: prevents disease. Transplant into a sunny position.

- Plant. Great time of year to add colour that will last through the light frost of autumn. Rudebeckia Goldsturm is #1 on my list, followed by Butterfly bush [hardy to zone 5 so if you live in Montreal/Ottawa or colder treat it as an annual - the #1 butterfly magnet]. #3 New England Aster - great if you are looking for the colour 'blue'.

- Remove your poor, tired impatiens. The downy mildew disease has wreaked havoc across most of the country. Sorry about that. Retailers should not really be selling these any more. I suggest that you replace them with some of the aforementioned plant species.

Read more about downy mildew and impatiens.

 


 Long Term
 

prune cedars - Hardwood trees should be pruned while in full leaf, rather than dormant. You have several weeks to put this off.

- Prune cedars and other evergreens. Sooner the better now, not that you will hurt the plants but they will look rather severe after you prune and will stay that way until next spring if you leave it too late.

I will be in touch later this month to bring you up to date on September/ 'back to school' garden work.

Meantime, keep your knees dirty.
Mark

 


 Event Reminder
 

Lambton Shores Lambton Shores Communities in Bloom
Presents: Mark Cullen

Date: September 7, 2013
Time: 10:00am
Location: Legacy Recreation Centre, 16 Allen Street, Thedford
Topic: Tips and Tricks to Succeed in Your Garden & How the Nature of our Hobby is Changing
Tckets: $10

For more information, call the Lambton Shores Community Services Department 1-866-943-1400

 


 Stay in Touch
 

Mark -Check out my syndicated weekly newspaper column.

-Read my weekly blog posts.

-Follow my daily tweets on Twitter.

-Facebook. I post links to all of my media work on my Facebook page.

-Weekly Canada AM segment, Wednesdays at 8:40am (EST). You can also watch the segments online.

-Tune in to CJAD 800AM Montreal every Friday for my weekly live interview with Andrew Carter on his morning show at 8:40am.

 



Mark Cullen
www.markcullen.com