08/16/2026
August "To-Do List" for Vegetables:
• Direct seed arugula, carrots, chard, greens (Asian and mustard), lettuce, onions, spinach, and turnips for a late fall/winter crop.
• Direct seed fava beans, leeks, and peas for overwintering.
• Harvest onions when half the tops have fallen over and winter squash when skins are hard and cannot be punctured with a thumbnail. Cure in a warm, dry place. Store in a cool, dark, well-ventilated area.
• Harvest potatoes after vines die and skins are firmly attached to tuber. Cure until skins toughen. Store in a cool, dark, well-ventilated area.
• To encourage tomatoes to ripen, cut root system by pushing a shovel into soil halfway around plant, about 8 to 12 inches from the main stem. Top indeterminate (vine-like) tomatoes and remove young fruit and blossoms from all tomato varieties to redirect energy to remaining fruit.
• Sow cover crops (such as crimson clover, hairy vetch, or cereal rye) in empty vegetable beds to be tilled into the soil
in spring.
From the Clalllam County Monthly Gardening Calendar
