To-Do List for the Late Summer Garden Calendar

When the "real" cucumber leaves start looking like the "fake" ones on the fall wreathes at Hobby Lobby...

When the mums start pushing through the baby's breath...

When your garden gloves start to look like this on their best days...

...it's time for the late summer garden calendar check!

Once again with a nod to the Country Living Gardening Basics garden guide, here's the to-do list for the care and maintenance of your late summer garden:

Hoe to keep the weeds down

Lift onions whose tops have dies down

Watch for signs of water stress and water regularly

Summer-prune any fruit trees

Thin fall vegetable seedlings (or plant ones that are hardy late in the season)

Harvest tender herb leaves and plant/transplant into pots those moving indoors

Fertilize tomatoes regularly

Tidy up strawberries after fruiting

Top-dress fruit and vegetables with a fast-acting fertilizer to give them a boost

Remove yellowing leaves and prune non-producing side shoots from tomato plants

Sow fall salad crops

As always, happy gardening!