August Gardening To-Do List

August is the month when the garden is gloriously overflowing, when zucchini and tomatoes are plotting a takeover, and when flowers are enthusiastically rubbing elbows with their neighbors.

August is also the time to don your wide-brimmed hat and head out to the garden. There are a handful of tasks to tackle now to ensure your plants stay healthy and strong through the tail end of summer and successfully transition to the tamer fall months.

Here’s your August gardening to-do list:

Divide Perennials

August is the best time to dig and divide perennials in your garden. Use a spade to lift the plant from the ground being careful to damage the root ball as little as possible. When the clump is out of the ground, use a large garden knife or spade to cut it into smaller pieces. Then, replant the smaller pieces or divisions as soon as possible.

Repot Houseplants

If you’ve given your houseplants a summer vacation outdoors, chances are they responded by with a lot of new growth. If so, August is the perfect time to move them to a larger container with fresh potting soil. This gives the plants time to acclimate to their new housing before cool weather arrives in fall.

Wage War on Weeds

If you’ve been putting off weeding, August is the time to finally get busy. That’s because, as the growing season winds down, both annual and perennial weeds start to produce thousands of seeds that will germinate in your garden next spring. If left unchecked, these invaders become extremely difficult to eliminate. 

Harvest Herbs

Although herbs can be harvested throughout the summer, the oils responsible for the most intense flavor and aroma are at their peak in August. For that reason, harvesting herbs should be on your radar this month. Once the herbs have been harvested, dry them for later use and enjoy flavorful herbs for months to come.

Plant Root Vegetables

Root vegetables are sweetest and juiciest when harvested in cool weather, which means they need to be planted midsummer. When planting root vegetables in August, fast-maturing crops are best. Avoid varieties that require more than 75 days to maturity, otherwise they might not mature before freezing weather ends the growing season.

Add Fulvic Acid

Fulvic acid molecules make excellent foliar sprays that improve the uptake of minerals, stimulate plant growth, and improve a plant’s natural resistance to environmental stresses. When you add H-G Fulvic Food to your August gardening to-do list, some of the benefits your garden will reap include:

• Increased Root Health. Root proliferation is a benefit of fulvic acid. Multiple studies have shown that fulvic acid stimulates root growth and increases branching and root hair development.

• Improved Nutrient Absorption. Fulvic acid makes a great foliar spray, allowing trace elements such as copper, iron, zinc, and manganese to be better absorbed through the leaves. 

• Enhanced Chlorophyll Synthesis. Fulvic acid interacts with sunlight to enhance photosynthesis. This can be particularly valuable during prolonged cloudy periods.

• Conditioned Soil. Fulvic acid can detoxify pollutants in the soil by absorbing toxins. This reduces soil-life damage and can also aid in the creation of fertile new soils.

• Improved Moisture Storage. Fulvic acid is like a charged organic sponge that holds moisture and contributes to the nutrient-storing ability of healthy soils.

Click here to learn more about what fulvic acid can do for your garden.