We’ve had quite a few questions lately about fertilizing. If you have been fertilizing your perennials or shrubs or trees, now is the time to stop! Mid-August is considered the last safe date to fertilize roses, etc. Fruit trees shouldn’t be fertilized after July. You don’t want to have them go into the winter with soft new growth that is more susceptible to winter kill. It’s okay to keep fertilizing annuals, since you want them to continue to bloom until hard frost, and they don’t prepare for winter the way perennials and trees do.
If you’re looking for a good fertilizer, we like Planet Natural’s all purpose organic fertilizer. They’re located in Montana and have a very good selection of organic fertilizers and insect controls. Prices are reasonable, and shipping costs aren’t too bad.
We’ve also heard from so many of you about how hard it has been to keep up with weeds this year. We know! I’ve been trying to catch up with weeding. The No-Water garden was very neglected. First it was too busy (May), then it was too wet (June), and then I hurt my back (July). Now we’re playing catch-up. Here are a couple of before and after pictures. The fawn was jumping around and running in circles, so pardon the blurry picture.
The wheelbarrow is close to where the deer were standing in the above pic.
Now that some of the weeds are gone, you can see the Buddleia alternifolia on the right, and the fernbush on the left. Just behind the wheelbarrow are bearded iris. Those iris are amazing, surviving many years of drought, but not really blooming all that well unless we have a rainy spring. This year they were gorgeous. Not visible is Penstemon pinifolius and California poppies, also survivors in this garden that relies only on precipitation for its survival.
