Though we’re not exactly sure of the dates, it is safe to say that we are surely still in the “Dog days” of summer. High temperatures, hot days, and little breeze has been pretty common the past couple of months. Our fair valley of the Pecan has been pretty well blessed with regular rains, though; Especially if you’ve been to any of the areas that surround us. San Saba still looks like a virtual Garden of Eden when you compare us

to some of the other Counties around our part of the Hill Country.

I took a turn-around trip down Hwy. 16 this past weekend to Kerrville & back & they are even resorting to scheduled watering in Kerr Co. We hear that Austin is pretty dry and a number of ranchers down in South Texas are either cutting down on cow numbers or liquidating herds, altogether.

We’ve certainly seen several summers that we were definitely not in this good of position for the middle of August. We all know that one wouldn’t want to wish a catastrophe on anyone, but we could use a lil’ ol’ light hurricane to come in about Corpus, do no damage, and then make it’s way on up to our parts and drop the bucket on us.

You might recall that we visited in last week’s edition regarding late summer care for the yard and garden, as well as some on the orchard trees. Anyhow, there are still several aspects of the yard & lawn that could use some attention in respect to watering, mowing, and fertilizing. Most folks think it’s best to wait on fertilizing your turf grass about the middle of Sept. after it has cooled off a bit.

The Fall application probably should be a complete, having all three elements , (N,P, & K), as it is the time for root storage for the grass plant so it can come back with strong emergence in the spring.

Also, keep the mower blade on the higher setting so as not to scalp your lawn as we will still be getting some hot summer days that will sun scald the exposed stolons if clipped to closely.

Water properly and be thorough as “piddle” watering benefits the watering person more-so than the grass. You should be through watering by mid-day so the lawn can dry some prior to the sultry, still evenings, therefore, avoiding a favorable formula for disease activity on your lawn & landscape plants.

An old Horticulturist friend of mine used to say that probably the most dangerous thing to a lawn was a person out in the yard with a water hose in hand. I would have to agree.

Now we can visit briefly regarding Fall vegetable gardening. We talked about it some last week, but wasn’t very specific with kinds of vegetables & timing on planting. We’ve got about 100 days until the average 1st frost date, so you need to keep that in mind relating to tender crops.

Radish, green beans, peas, cucumbers, and squash should have time to produce if you get them in the ground right away. On the other hand, if you like some late Fall to mid-winter produce, some of the Cole crops such as cabbage, collards, mustard, cauliflower, broccoli, and onions can be planted late summer through the Fall. It’s always a good idea to check with your seed dealer or garden center to pick out the varieties that are best for our area within each respective vegetable.

Proper variety selection can save you a lot of despair on down the line. The County Agent’s office can give you a list of recommended varieties for the vegetables you want to plant.

The Fall season is also a good time to plant some trees or shrubs in the yard or orchard. Line yourself out a planting plan, decide on the species you want in various spots, and do a little research on where the best place might be to purchase the desired trees or shrubs. One aspect of species and location of planting is to think forward ten to twenty years & consider over-crowding or height of the prospective planting regarding overhead utility lines or other trees, roof, or over-hangs. A little planning goes a long way in avoiding future problems in the yard, garden, or orchard even out around——————Harkeyville!!!!!!!!!