Wichita gardener’s almanac for June 27

July is almost here — It’s hard to believe, since the rains held us at bay for so long, but July arrives Wednesday. There’s still time to plant tomatoes — through July 4 — as well as sweet potatoes and pumpkins. And to start thinking about July-timed chores.

Grub control — If your lawn has a history of grub problems, early July is the time to put down a preventative, Ward Upham of K-State writes in this week’s Horticulture 2015 newsletter. If you don’t know whether you have a grub problem, you can wait until late July to apply a grub insecticide — such as Dylox or carbaryl (Sevin) — after you see evidence of grubs or their damage.

Products that contain Merit (imidacloprid) are considered grub preventers, killing grubs when they are quite small, Upham says. “Merit is safer to use around pets and humans than traditional grub killers,” Upham says. It can be found in Bayer’s Season-Long Grub Control, Grub No-More and Grub Free Zone. Another grub preventer, GrubEx, contains chlorantraniliprole and is best applied in April or May, though applications through June should be effective, Upham says. Be sure to water any any grub product soon after application, he says.

In the strawberry patch — Once the harvest of this year’s strawberries is complete, the sooner you can renovate the patch, the better next year’s crop will be, Upham says. Get more sunshine on leaves by removing weeds, and if leaves have any diseases spots, remove all the leaves, which will cause new ones to grow back. You can even mow over the patch with the blade set high so crowns are not touched, he says. And thin out the bed, hoeing or pulling out plants so that they are about 4 to 6 inches apart. Then fertilize the plants with about 3/4 to 1 pound (3 to 4 cups) of a complete fertilizer such as 13-13-13 (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) on each 25 feet of row, unless a soil test shows you do not need phosphorous or potassium. In that case, use a nitrogen fertilizer. Water the fertilizer in, using about 1 inch of water if the soil is dry, Upham says.

Vinegar as a weed killer — Vinegar has often been touted as a weed killer but has only recently been put to the test, by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Upham says.Vinegar in strengths of 5, 10 and 20 percent were used on weeds including lambs-quarters, giant foxtail, velvetleaf, smooth pigweed and Canada thistle. Household vinegar is close to 5 percent; vinegar sold as an herbicide is usually a 20 percent solution, Upham says.

Vinegar is not translocated to roots, so it burns the top of a plant, making it unlikely to kill established perennials, Upham says. In the test, weeds were hand-sprayed to uniformly coat the leaves with vinegar. Young plants no older than 2 weeks old were killed with the 5 and 10 percent solution, Upham says, while higher concentrations provided 85 to 100 percent kill regardless of the size of the weed. The study used only vinegar made from fruits or grains, conforming to organic farming standards, Upham says.

Garden events

Tuesdays on the Terrace — Jenny Wood & The Watchers will perform at Tuesdays on the Terrace from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Botanica. “Jade & John Collins” is the theme. Drinks and dinner will be for sale, and the gardens are open until 8 p.m. Admission is $7, or $3 for members.

“Hollies for Wichita Gardens” lunchtime lecture — Linda Parsons, a research assistant at the John C. Pair Horticulture Center, will be at Botanica on Wednesday to talk about growing hollies and incorporating them into the landscape. Her lunchtime lecture, at 12:15, is included in Botanica admission. Lunch from Blue Moon Caterers will be for sale for $8 from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Daylily show — All colors and shapes of daylilies will be on display when the Wichita Daylily Club has its annual show on Sunday at Botanica. It will be open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission to the show is free; admission to Botanica will be charged if you want to go into the gardens. The judged show is accredited by the American Hemerocallis Society.

And more daylilies — Specimens of daylily hybrids and arrangements of the flowers will be on display when the Prairie Winds Daylily Society has its annual Bloom Show from 1 to 4 p.m. July 5 at Botanica. Admission to the show is free; admission to Botanica will be charged if you want to go into the gardens.

“Botanica” author — Keith Wondra, author of the new book “Botanica, The Wichita Gardens,” will make an appearance at Watermark Books & Cafe, 4701 E. Douglas, at 11 a.m. Saturday. Admission is free.

Thursdays at Botanica — Admission to Botanica is $3 on Thursdays during the summer, and life-size outdoor board games are available for play from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Board games and books are available on the Terrace. The gardens are open until 8 p.m. Movies will be shown at sunset on July 9 (“Big”) and Aug. 13 (“Annie”).

Annie Calovich

This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 8:52 PM with the headline "Wichita gardener’s almanac for June 27."