Master Gardeners Release July Gardening To-Do List 

The Dallas County Master Gardener Association, Inc. (DCMGA), a division of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, has released its Garden Task List for July. In addition to watering advice (pay attention to the water needs of lawns, ornamental plants and vegetables, being attentive particularly to new plants with undeveloped root systems and to outdoor potted plants, which can dry out quickly) the DCMGA’s list of tasks includes:   

• Check ornamentals, flowers and vegetables for spider mites 

• Inspect broadleaf evergreen shrubs such as euonymus and hollies for scale insects, and treat as necessary 
• Prune out dead or broken branches of trees and shrubs, but avoid major pruning during the heat of summer 
• Cut back spent flowers of annuals and perennials to encourage new blooms 
• Plant warm season turf grasses 
• Plant ground covers, tropicals and warm season annuals 
• Plant sweet and hot peppers, okra and tomatoes (first half of month) for fall harvest  

More July garden tasks: www.dallascountymastergardeners.org