Hello Fellow Gardeners!
Well it’s close to harvest time, so here are some gardening tips for August including pest and disease control, and what to do with those fresh vegetables!

• Gardening Tips (UMD)
  • Harvest leaves of herbs used in cooking (rosemary, basil, sage) in early morning, for best flavor.
  • Cool season lawns go dormant in hot, dry weather. Do not water.
  • At the end of the month, begin planting cool-season vegetables (turnips, carrots, beets, spinach, Chinese cabbage, kale, Brussel sprouts). (see Planting Dates for Crops in MD and Vegetable Planting Calendar for Central MD)
  • Grow It Eat It: Leaf spots diseases of tomato and pepper
  • Squash Vine Borer Symptoms and Management
  • Stink Bugs: Laying Eggs of Just the Right Hue (New York Times)

  • 

    Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica)
    is an invasive weed that spreads quickly by both seeds and rhizomes. Once established it is hard to eradicate. Dig out as much root as possible, but it might take several seasons to get it under control.

  • Common Problems – Vegetables
  • More tips on the UMD site.

• 13 Reasons Moths Are Summer’s Most Underrated Animal
  • Put down that swatter and switch off the bug zapper: Moths are incredible insects that need our help!
• Study shows high-risk areas for Lyme disease growing (Fox News)
  • This New Map Shows Your Risk of Catching Lyme Disease (National Geographic)
  • American Lyme Disease Foundation, Inc.
  • Lyme Disease Fact Sheet – Community Health Administration, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
  • How to identify, prevent, and treat Lyme disease (Center for Disease Control (CDC))
  • Other resources on Lyme Disease (on UMD website under “Public Health”)
• Support our Local Farmers – Participate in the Buy Local Challenge!

Please support our local farmers by visiting one of Montgomery County’s Farmers Markets and purchasing local fresh produce.  See below for a  listing of local farmersʼ markets and farms in your area.

• Montgomery County Farm Tour 2015
• Maryland’s Best Farms Directory
• Montgomery County Farmer’s Markets
• Buy Local Challenge Tips and Recipes
• Marylandʼs Best Tips and Recipes
• Food Preservation Tips (canning, freezing, etc.; some instructional videos included)
• Buy Local for the Holidays
• Go to the 67th Annual Montgomery County Fair at Montgomery County Fairgrounds being held Friday to Saturday, August 14 – 22, 2015 in Gaithersburg, MD, buy from your local farmers, and have fun!