* Wash carrots right after digging. With gentle scrubbing, the moist soil should come free from the carrots. It becomes much more difficult to remove dry soil from carrots which have been sitting around for any length of time after harvest. At that point, the carrots will most likely have to be peeled before eating or adding to salads and other dishes. Since the skins of carrots contain considerable nutrients, peeling should always be a last option.
* Harvest watermelons when the ground spot on the underside of each melon turns slightly yellow. On most varieties of watermelon, the tendril (arising from the stem) which is nearest the melon turns brown when the fruit is ripe. There’s also the thump test; thump the melon with your knuckles. If the sound is somewhat hollow or metallic, the melon is not ripe. If the sound is dull, the melon is ripe, much like the melon on my shoulders. Be aware that melons do not ripen any further after they are harvested.
* Scout the leaves of eggplant for potato beetles. Despite their name, they do not feed just on the foliage of potato plants but also on other members of the nightshade family, including tomatoes and peppers. At this time of year, the beetles are commonly found in their larval stage. Though they may not be eating the fruit of these plants or the underground potatoes, the defoliation they cause greatly reduces crop yields. Handpicking is the easiest way to get rid of the larvae, but the squeamish can also apply natural organic pesticides such as Bt and neem oil.
* Sow seeds of spinach in vacant areas of the vegetable garden for a fall harvest. Shade the seedlings and give them plenty of water. Spinach needs about 30 to 45 days from sowing to harvest, depending upon variety. Continue planting into early October. ‘Melody’, ‘Indian Summer’, and ‘Tyee’ are good varieties for late summer and fall planting.
* Don’t fret about browned lawn areas. It is not unusual for grass to go dormant in response to summer drought. With this week’s rain and the gradual cooling of temperatures as we get ready to leap into September, grass should begin to green up again. On the other hand, prepare to renovate lawn areas that have less than 50% grass coverage. Lawn renovation may be as simple as removing weeds, thus allowing grass to fill spaces that were occupied by weeds. If soil compaction is the cause of thinning, aerate using a core-type aerator and overseed with a good quality lawn seed.
* Move indoors those houseplants which have spent the summer outside. Monitor these plants carefully over the next few months for outbreaks of mealy bugs, aphids, scale insects and spider mites. Populations of these pests often increase rapidly after the plants return to the comfy confines of our homes.
* Keep cutting flowers from annuals for floral arrangements. Since we don’t like to disrupt the appearance of flower borders where annuals intermingle with perennials, we planted a cutting garden in part of the vegetable garden. It worked beautifully!!
