August Gardening in the Low Desert 2001

This is the month of humidity, wind, storms, and those charming pests we have come to know and love. Whiteflies are number one on my hit list! Please check my article August 1998 for remedies for these pests. For information on summer annuals, fruit and nut trees, planting annuals, solarizing planting beds, and chlorosis, see my article for August 2000. For information on summer care of roses and vegetables, see my article for August 1999.

It is also time to start looking for the things you want to plant next month, such as iris and some vegetables.

CPR for your Peppers and Tomatoes Some gardening experts advise pruning peppers and tomatoes to encourage a fall crop. Cut back tomatoes by about a third, and lightly prune peppers. Protect both with shade cloth to prevent sunburn on newly exposed stems. To help prevent fruit split on tomatoes, citrus, melons, pomegranates, which may happen during the heavy rains at this time of year, keep roots evenly moist. Fruit split occurs when the skin of fruit is too dry and the skin can’t absorb all the moisture of the rains.

Chrysanthemums should be available sometime later this month and early next month for fall bloom. Pinch the tips of established ones monthly until Labor Day for best bloom.

There is a growing trend of water gardening in the low desert. This is so easy and rewarding as plants and fish overwinter easily here without special care. It can be as easy as a container with a few plants and fish, although my feeling is that this may get too hot for fish unless it is rather large. My pond evolved many years ago when a large tree died and had to be removed. I worried about where I would find enough soil to fill in the hole and then had the bright idea to make a small pond. With my sons’ help, we enlarged the hole, plopped in a liner (available at most nurseries and garden centers), added a pump, a few cheap goldfish and some plants. It’s amazing what a pleasure it is. A few years ago, the pond liner developed a leak so we took out the fish and plants and since I wanted a larger pond, we enlarged it and reshaped it to a more irregular shape, to look more natural. Then we put in a new liner, put flagstone around the edge to hide the edge of the liner, and placed some large rocks which we inherited with our house, in different spots. We also had a railroad tie which had been used for landscaping which we laid across one corner, and built a little waterfall from that. Behind the waterfall are water iris, which bloom yellow in spring and there are also miniature cattails, water lilies, some floating plants and some underwater plants, which help to stabilize the quality of the water. The tiny goldfish are now pretty large and we have mosquito fish as well. I planted a white bauhinia (butterfly tree) on one side, it blooms at the same time as the yellow water iris and the blue hibiscus, very beautiful. The is also a hybrid catalpa tree on another side, which blooms in clusters of pink flowers. There is a potted canna in the pond and several other things. A banana tree is a new resident (thanks to the Spring Garden Fair at the County Extension Office last spring where the rare fruit club members bring the fruit of their efforts). My goal was to create a small desert oasis and I am delighted with the results. The problem is, I keep wanting a larger pond and have no more room.

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