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Keep your plants producing into late summer

You've worked hard all summer to care for your vegetables so don't give up now.

DENVER — It takes some doing to keep a garden looking beautiful in late summer. Follow these tips:

Keep your plants hydrated. Container plants--in particular--may need frequent, thorough watering. By this time in the season they're just big, thirsty root balls. Avoid watering from the top. You'll just knock stuff over. Water from the sides. 

Because your flowers have worked hard all summer, they need a bloom booster. Fertilize container plants to keep them blooming. We don't know when the first frost may hit, so go out with a bang. Follow directions exactly for best results.

Continue deadheading. You don't want annuals to direct their energies into seed production. Because the days are shorter and nights are cooler, this signals to plants that the end is coming. With care, they'll often display a renewed vigor. 

Water your vegetables thoroughly. It's a myth that tomatoes will ripen faster if you stop watering them. That just results in dead plants and dried out fruit. You've worked hard all summer to care for your vegetables so don't give up now.

Thanks to Brittney from Dumb Friends League for appearing in this segment and being a good sport. We've concluded our open Sundays for the year but we're grateful to our visitors who helped raise nearly $9,000 to support the work of Dumb Friends League.   

More Proctor's Garden:

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