What to do in the garden this week, what is ripe, and the weather that will decide both.
The growing week
This week: patchy fog then sunny, highs around 97°F and lows around 52°F.
Heat: highs near 97°F — water deeply and shade new transplants.
In the garden now
The autumn garden goes in as the day length starts to drop
Direct-sow beets, turnips, kohlrabi and winter radish. Beets 3–5in at 55–70 days; turnips 2–6in at 30–75; kohlrabi 4–6in at 50–70; daikon 4–8in at 50–70. UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County
Work an inch or two of finished compost in before the autumn crops. Follow with a complete organic fertiliser, or dried poultry manure pellets at around 3-4-3. UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County
Start easing the irrigation back as the days shorten. Demand peaks in June and July and falls away through August and September even while the heat holds. UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County
The rest of the month, and the whole year, is in the garden calendar.
At the farm stands
In August, look for tomatoes, peaches, plums, corn, peppers, eggplant, melons, figs, blackberries, and the first table grapes.
Garden tasks come from the UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County and UC Integrated Pest Management, each linked to its source. Growing weather is from the National Weather Service. Your own microclimate — valley floor or hillside — will vary.