August Garden Checklist: Tasks & DIY Projects

August is our time to savor summer—harvesting, crafting, and soaking it in—while also preparing the garden for fall vegetables and planting for the year ahead.

If you’d like an overview by season, I have a year-at-a-glance garden task list here.

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August Garden Tasks

Here in southwestern Ontario, Canada, August is our last hoorah before the fall weather sets in and the kids go back to school. As the days shorten, there’s often a slight chill in the evening air (which I love), and nesting season is winding down.

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Grow

Planting, Sowing, & More

Outdoors 

• If you want to grow winter vegetables, start the slow-growers in August.
• Many fruits and veggies should be ready to harvest now.
• Some flowering plants will bloom a second time if you deadhead them (snip the spent blooms off).
• Remember to turn your compost pile (2x per week is ideal), to keep the microbes working.
• Grow new plants from cuttings: see what you can propagate now.

Pond

• If your pond water is murky, use this simple tip for keeping the water sparkling clear.

Wild Things

• Keep bird feeders and water feeders clean and filled.
• Clean out nesting boxes between broods. But be sure you’re not disturbing an active nest. I use a wildlife camera to monitor activity so I know when it’s safe to do maintenance.
• Also keep your hummingbird feeders clean and filled. Don’t allow them to get moldy. If the days are really hot, just take them down until the weather cools off.
• If bees are taking over, this has tips for keeping them away from hummingbird feeders.

Indoors

• Grow salad greens and other veggies and herbs can grow indoors all year-round.
• This has helpful tips for keeping houseplants happy while you’re on vacation.

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Make

Home Improvements

Paint | This may be a good time to take care of any outdoor maintenance projects that require painting. For us, August is often the last month where we can be sure temperatures will be within the required range for paints to adhere properly.

Creative Projects

Here’s some project ideas:

• 20 Garden art projects under $20
• Make a tin can robot
• Make garden art toadstools
• Find a garden sign that suits you
• Make a floating pond planter

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Ideas

Dream & Scheme

• Save your back with a good potting bench.
• Order seeds now for winter and indoor sowing. You can grow salads indoors any time and some winter sown seeds can be started in December.
• Need more privacy in your garden? Here’s some ideas.

Observe & Enjoy

You may not know it by the name phenology, but you certainly know what it is. Phenology is the science of observing annual first events in nature.  When flower buds open. When peepers first peep. When bees appear. When migrations arrive. When bulbs pop up. The list is endless.

Seasonal changes prompt natural responses in the plant and animal kingdoms. It is interesting to note these events and compare year over year.

I like to note my observations in my phone calendar. It’s fun to compare the changes season by season and year over year.

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Resources

It’s important to get fall vegetable garden seeds started while it’s still warm enough for germination.

Happy August.

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛