Below are a few tips which will assist gardeners with summer management of their landscapes. Additional gardening information is available at the Chouteau County Extension Office located in the green building next to the courthouse.

• Plants use in our landscapes is up to 2.5 inches of water per week.

• Harvest broccoli while heads are tight.

• Pick shell peas when the seeds are fully developed but before ripening. Harvest edible pod peas when the seeds are barely visible inside the pod. Allow snap peas to reach nearly full size, but harvest them before they mature.

• Harvest peppers, cucumbers, snap beans and summer squash before they ripen to prolong production.

• Transplant iris after the bloom fades. Dig the clumps, clip the leaves to half their length, and transplant shallowly, with the tops of the rhizomes barely exposed above the soil.

• Deadhead roses, unless you want the hips for jelly or colorful enjoyment. Deadheading is necessary so the plant can use energy to put into root growth or storing of carbohydrates for winter.

• Prevent annuals from seeding if you wish to prolong bloom.

• Water trees enough to keep the top 10 inches of soil moist at all times.

• Withhold fertilizing lawn until Labor Day.

• Adjusting grass-mowing height from 2.5- 3 inches. Cutting at a higher level will increase shade, keep the ground cooler and help save water.

• Ants on peony buds signal a healthy plant. Leave the ants alone.

• Remove flower stalks from rhubarb as they appear.

• Finish up rhubarb harvest and be sure to leave plenty of stalks intact to replenish the crowns food supply.

• Cease asparagus harvest before July 15.

Information for this article came from the MSU Extension Montana gardener’s book of days and the MSU Extension Montana Master Gardener Handbook.

Montana State University U.S. Department of Agriculture and Montana Counties Cooperating. MSU Extension is an equal opportunity/affirmative action provider of educational outreach.