July Garden Checklist: Tasks & DIY Projects

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In cold climates, July is peak garden season with flowers blooming, food crops thriving, and pollinators busy. Here are some garden tasks to do this month.

For more, see garden task lists for each month here.

July Garden Tasks

Here in southwestern Ontario, Canada, July marks the peak of summer. Our gardens are looking their best, and it’s time to enjoy them before the first inklings of autumn appear in August.

Monthly Garden Checklists

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Grow

Planting, Sowing, & More

Outdoors

Where to begin? July is the time to be lazy and productive all at once!

Some houseplants enjoy summer outdoors. Just don’t let them scorch in the sun.
Veggies and fruits should be producing. Sow more starter plants and seeds for continuous harvests.
If bolting is an issue, look at these tips.
It’s also time to start seeds (here’s my list) for your fall and winter vegetable garden.
Remember to turn your compost pile (2x per week is ideal), to keep the microbes working.
If your compost pile is stinky, it shouldn’t be. This explains how to fix it.
Grow new plants from cuttings: see what you can propagate now.
There’s still time for more blooms: 17 Flowers Seeds to Sow Mid-Summer

Pond

Maintain pond pump. Avoid invasive pond plants. 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. I use wildlife cameras to be sure I’m not disturbing anything.
If hummingbirds are avoiding your feeders, this may be why.

Indoors

Make sure your Christmas cactus is on track for blooming later this year.
This has tips for keeping houseplants alive while you’re away.

Make

Creative Projects

Here’s some project ideas.

Ideas

Dream & Scheme

Stock up on seed starter mix and organic container mix while shops still have it in stock.
Old watering cans make great containers and garden art.
Take lots of photos. It’s an easy way to note what’s working and what needs refreshing.
Let flowers go to seed if you want to save seeds or let them self-sow. You can also save your tomato seeds.

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 intriguing to note these events and compare them year over year.

Summer Phenological Events

Here’s a few examples you might notice.

Many plants are at their finest (here in southwestern Ontario).
Insect-mania! The food chain is going wild. And reproduction for all wild things is on fire!
Birds may be raising second or third families of the season.
If rain is consistent, mosquitoes are out in full force. Bats will feast on them in the evenings.
Seeing tiny blinking lights in the night garden? It’s fireflies mating.