The lunar calendar can significantly influence plant growth. During a full moon, the above-ground parts of plants grow vigorously, while a retrograde moon enhances root development. July is a critical month for managing pests and diseases. Here’s a detailed guide on what to do and when for optimal results:
July Plant Care and Treatments
In July, watch out for pests like the Colorado potato beetle affecting potatoes and late blight impacting tomatoes. Use a copper-based product like “Hom” for tomatoes and potatoes, and “Fitosporin” for greenhouse tomatoes. To combat stem and fruit rot on eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes, clean the leaves with a damp cloth, then treat with potassium permanganate and chalk ointment. Afterward, dust the plants with ash and water them with a solution of calcium nitrate (2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water).
Detailed Schedule by Dates:
1.07 – 2.07 (Growing Moon)
Focus on collecting seeds, rooting cuttings, feeding plants, loosening soil, and trimming flowers. Mow the lawn and avoid inoculating or applying fungicides and insecticides.
3.07 – 4.07 (Growing Moon)
Water, feed, and graft plants. Weed and loosen the soil, cut the lawn, and address pests and diseases. Avoid dividing bulbs or tubers and refrain from cutting plants. If it rains on 3.07, expect rainfall to continue for about forty days.
5.07 – 7.07 (Growing Moon)
Continue watering, feeding, and grafting. Sow greens and maintain the lawn. Loosen and weed the soil. On the 7th, prepare medicinal herbs.
8.07 (Growing Moon)
Perform root and foliar fertilizing, manage pests, harvest cuttings, and sow greens. Avoid cutting or grafting plants.
9.07 (Full Moon)
Refrain from sowing, transplanting, pruning, pinching, and watering. Instead, focus on thinning and loosening the soil.
10.07 – 12.07 (Waning Moon)
Harvest early potatoes and other root crops. Spray flowers against diseases and pests, loosen soil, and thin beds. Dig up flower bulbs and collect seeds. Avoid sowing, watering, feeding, and planting.
13.07 – 14.07 (Waning Moon)
Loosen and water the land, lay compost, and sow root crops. Continue harvesting cuttings and pinching plants. Avoid pest control. Harvest gooseberries and cut hay.
15.07 – 16.07 (Waning Moon)
Collect seeds, loosen and thin beds, and focus on fruit harvesting and processing. Avoid diving, transplanting, feeding, or watering. Continue mowing hay and harvesting poppies.
17.07 – 18.07 (Waning Moon)
Sow root crops, dig up flower bulbs, and water, graft, and harvest plants. Sow both perennial and annual plants. Avoid loosening, cutting, or transplanting.
19.07 – 20.07 (Waning Moon)
Harvest early potatoes, loosen and turn the soil, graft and weed plants, and manage pests. Avoid moistening the soil and sowing grassy plants.
21.07 – 22.07 (Waning Moon)
Remove legumes, water, loosen the soil, graft, lay compost, and root cuttings. Avoid using chemical treatments and harvesting root crops.
23.07 (New Moon)
Thin beds, loosen the soil, and treat plants for diseases and pests. Avoid sowing, feeding, watering, or transplanting.
24.07 – 25.07 (Growing Moon)
Plant seedlings, collect seeds and fruits, weed and loosen potted plants, and treat them for diseases and pests. Refrain from feeding, watering, or cutting plants.
26.07 – 27.07 (Growing Moon)
Propagate plantings, divide perennials, water, and fertilize. Harvest greens, nightshades, and pumpkins. Loosen, weed, and lay compost, and manage plant health.
28.07 – 29.07 (Waning Moon)
Harvest greens and sow new ones, root cuttings, fertilize, and loosen the soil. Mow and water the lawn. Avoid inoculating or spraying plants.
30.07 – 31.07 (Growing Moon)
Feed, inoculate, and water plants. Loosen, weed, lay compost, and treat plants for diseases and pests. Harvest tubers, carry out pruning, and divide plants into tubers and bulbs.
Additional Tips:
In July, transplant well-hardened fruit bush seedlings. Currants are prone to powdery mildew, so treat them with “Fitosporin,” adding a bit of soap for better adhesion. Currant and gooseberry bushes should also be treated with “Fitoverm” to combat caterpillar pests and leaf miners. Fertilize with a shovelful of manure in a favorable period to enhance growth.
Wishing you a successful gardening season!
