Your August Garden Guide for Dallas and Fort Worth

August is one of the toughest months for Texas gardeners, where the stifling heat makes it nearly impossible to move out of the shade and walking to the front door is enough exercise to break out a sweat! However, the right prep in late summer will set up your yard for the “second spring” of fall. Here are some tips for August gardening in Dallas and Fort Worth from our team of cash house buyers.

Watering Tips

During these months there simply isn’t enough water around to keep your plants thriving in the heat. Unless you have a well-established garden of native plants, you’re going to have to water regularly.

Turf grass, plants and trees become weak and vulnerable to diseases and pests when they don’t get enough water, so it’s important to look for signs that indicate dehydration like drooping leaves or your turf looking less springy. Try to water thoroughly once or twice a week rather than each day.

To minimize water loss from evaporation, water very early in the morning and use a sprinkler that produces large drops rather than a fine misting spray.

Add mulch to your flowerbeds as well as around the base of trees and shrubs. This helps prevent moisture loss from the soil. It also helps prevent the soil from heating up excessively and burning delicate roots. Good mulching materials include shredded bark, wood chips, bark chunks or chips, sawdust and wood shavings, leaves, and lawn clippings.

 Pest Prevention Tips

Chinch bugs are a common late summer pest in the Dallas area, sucking grass blades dry by drinking the sap. While these bugs are around most of the year, the population can explode when the summer heat kills off beneficial insects that feed off them. While they feed off most grass types, they tend to prefer species like Kentucky bluegrass, Bermuda, zoysia and bent grass. If your grass is getting enough water but dying off in patches, then you likely have an infestation of these little bugs. You can kill them using a broad-spectrum insecticide.

Another common pest you may find in your garden during this season is the white grubworm. These pests eat the rots of the grass, causing it to die off. You can usually spot them by looking for churned up soil and sifting through it for small, white grubs. If you find them, you can treat the spot with a broad-spectrum insecticide.

If you have azaleas, then now’s the time to look for azalea lace bugs. The affected leaves will be covered in white stippling and the little black bugs will be found on the underside of the leaves. Again, you can spray them with broad-spectrum insecticide.

Plan and Plant Your Vegetables

Now’s a great time to start planning your fall vegetable garden and planting it up for a good harvest. Remember to work early in the morning or late in the evening to prevent heat stroke.

Good vegetables to plant during this time include beans, beets, cabbage, cucumber, kohlrabi, radishes, spinach, turnips, carrots, broccoli, kale, tomatoes, mustard and cauliflower. Water regularly each morning for at least two weeks to establish strong roots (without letting the plants become waterlogged) and feed with a water-soluble, slow release 5-10-10 fertilizer.

To help your vegetables thrive, consider companion planting which groups certain plants together so that they benefit from each other. Good examples of companion planting include planting marigolds, basil and nasturtiums to repel aphids and beetles from cucumbers, and planting bush bean varieties near beets, cabbages and carrots.

General Gardening Tips

• Keep your mower setting on high and don’t remove more than 1/3 of the length of your grass at one time. This will help shade the roots of your grass and prevent stress.
• Collect seeds from summer blooming plants you want to re-sow next spring. After letting the seeds dry, store them in jars or paper envelopes (no plastic).
• Water fruit trees deeply to prevent early fruit drop off due to heat stress.
• Prune roses and feed them to encourage a second bloom in fall.
• Sow snapdragon, dianthus, pansy, calendula and other cool-season seeds.
• Deadhead flowers to encourage a second bloom in fall.

Want to Sell Your House Quickly? We’re Cash House Buyers for Dallas and Fort Worth

If you want to sell your home privately to reduce risks of coming into contact with COVID-19 or to save on real estate agent fees, then our cash for houses agency in Fort Worth can help you out! At Shiny Key Properties, we buy houses for cash and have been working for many years in the Dallas and Fort Worth area. We’re passionate about professionalism and helping our community.

Here’s how our process works:

• You enter your information on our website
• We’ll contact you directly by phone to discuss an offer for your property (you can also get a free property evaluation from our website)
• You can accept or reject the offer
• You can also call us directly on 469-858-0088

Our team of real estate professionals is fully-qualified, compassionate and highly-motivated to offer you the best possible market-related price for your home you want to sell your home quickly.

At Shiny Key Properties, our trained consultants have years of experience in helping homeowners get out of foreclosure, sell your home privately or sell quickly for relocation. To find out more about our cash for houses Fort Worth service, please contact us today and speak to one of our friendly team members.