Tim Joyce, KOIN Local 6 Environmental Reporter

August is the time that I try hardest to keep up with the garden. Summer heat in these dog days can wreak havoc on containers that don’t get daily watering and making sure one keeps up with taking on regular weeding and checking for fungal growth like powdery mildew can be daunting for someone like myself who still considers himself a somewhat novice gardener. Some of the harvest is already becoming clear. Some successes are already known—and many failures too for that matter. If the joy comes from being outside and in the elements—then neither should bother you too much. At my own house I’m watching the plums weigh down the branches and the peppers really starting to pop.

This is the calendar from the Oregon State University Extension Service about what can/should be done in the month of August. It should be noted that OSU encourages research based sustainable gardening practices. Always identify and monitor problems before acting. First consider cultural controls; then physical, biological, and chemical controls (which include insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils, botanical insecticides, organic and synthetic pesticides). And most paramount to this philosophy: always consider the least toxic approach first.

All recommendations in this calendar are not necessarily applicable to all areas of Oregon. For more information, contact your local office of the OSU Extension Service.

• Check apple maggot traps; spray tree if needed.
• Make compost of lawn clippings and garden plants that are ready to be recycled. Do not use clippings if lawn has been treated with herbicide, including "weed-and-feed" products.
• Control yellow jackets and wasps with traps and lures as necessary. Keep in mind they are beneficial insects and help control pest insects in the home garden.
• First week: spray for walnut husk fly.
• First week: second spray of peach and prune trees for root borers.
• First week: second spray of filbert trees for filbertworm.
• Check for root weevils in ornamental shrubs and flowers; codling moth and spider mite in apple trees; scale insects in camellias, holly, maples. Treat as necessary.
• Plant winter cover crops in vacant space around the vegetable garden; plant winter kale, Brussels sprouts, turnips, parsnips, parsley, and Chinese cabbage.
• Dampwood termites begin flying late this month. Make sure your home is free of wet wood or places where wood and soil are in contact.
• Watch for corn earworm on early corn--treat as needed.
• Begin soil preparation for planting new lawn.
• Fertilize cucumbers, summer squash, and broccoli to maintain production while you continue harvesting.
• Clean and fertilize strawberry beds.
• Control caterpillars on leafy vegetables, as needed, with Bt., or by hand picking and removal.
• For mite control on ornamentals and most vegetables, hose off foliage, spray with miticide if necessary.
• Monitor garden irrigation closely so crops and ornamentals don't dry out.
• Use mulch to protect ornamentals and garden plants from hot weather damage.
• Camellias need deep watering to develop flower buds for next spring.
• Prune raspberries, boysenberries, and other caneberries after harvest.
• Willamette Valley: corn may need protection from earworm. Spray new silks with appropriate pesticides if necessary.
• East of Cascades: check for tomato hornworm.
• Mid-August to early September--fertilize lawn for last time this growing season.
• Western Oregon: mid-summer planting of peas; use enation-virus-resistant varieties, plant fall crops of cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli.
• Oregon coast: plant spinach.
• Western valleys, Portland, Roseburg, Medford: plant cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach, turnips, and parsnips.
• Columbia and Snake River valleys, Ontario: plant Chinese cabbage, and endive.
• High elevations, central and eastern Oregon: prune away excess vegetation and new blossoms on tomatoes after mid-August. Concentrate on ripening set fruit.
• Coastal and western valleys: spray potatoes and tomatoes for early and late blight.
• Willamette Valley: allow your lawn to dry out in late summer to make it less attractive to egg-laying crane flies.

Again, all recommendations in this calendar are not necessarily applicable to all areas of Oregon. For more information, contact your local office of the OSU Extension Service.
To find the OSU extension service office nearest you, click on the following link: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/locations.php