08/11/2026
Hand picked grubs just yesterday 😎💪🏽
What's Happening in the Garden, Clark County? How about we talk about our August gardening checklist!
August is often the toughest month of the year for Southern Nevada gardeners. Triple-digit temperatures can be hard on plants—and gardeners, too! But don't put your gardening gloves away just yet. A little attention now can make all the difference when cooler weather arrives and your garden is ready to thrive again.
Here's your August gardening checklist:
• Inspect your irrigation system. Walk your garden and look for leaks, clogged emitters, or broken lines. Even a small leak can waste a surprising amount of water and leave plants stressed during our hottest weeks.
• Water deeply, not just frequently. Deep watering encourages roots to grow farther into the soil, making plants more resilient during extreme heat.
• Refresh your mulch. A 2–4 inch layer of organic mulch helps keep the soil cooler, reduces evaporation, and suppresses weeds. Keep mulch a few inches away from plant stems and tree trunks.
• Harvest often. Picking vegetables regularly encourages many crops—such as cucumbers, beans, squash, peppers, and okra—to continue producing.
• Scout for pests. Check the undersides of leaves for spider mites, whiteflies, aphids, and squash bugs. Check your tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants for large tomato hornworm caterpillars - they can strip the leaves off these plants in a matter of days!
Catching pests early makes them much easier to manage using the least-toxic methods. Here are some tips for spotting some of the most common offenders:
• Spider mites – Tiny pests that cause fine webbing and speckled leaves.
• Whiteflies – Small white insects that fly up when plants are disturbed.
• Aphids – Often found on tender new growth and flower buds.
• Tomato hornworms – Large green caterpillars that can chew the leaves off tomato, pepper, and eggplants almost overnight.
• Squash bugs – Frequently found on squash and pumpkins, feeding on leaves and stems.
Whenever possible, start with the non-toxic solutions like:
• Hand-pick large caterpillars.
• Spray a strong stream of water to dislodge aphids.
• Encourage beneficial insects such as lady beetles and lacewings.
• Remove heavily infested leaves.
• Check plants early in the morning or late in the evening when pests are easier to spot.
• Remove diseased plant material. If tomatoes or other vegetables are showing signs of disease, remove the affected plants and place them in the trash—not the compost pile—to help reduce the spread of disease in your garden.
• Don't forget the wildlife. Keep bird baths and shallow water sources clean and filled. Bees, butterflies, and birds all appreciate a reliable drink during our hottest days.• Start planning your fall garden. Believe it or not, fall gardening begins in August! This is the perfect time to prepare beds and start seeds for many cool-season vegetables that will reward you with a productive autumn harvest. We’ll expand upon this in a future posting but check out the links below.
The dog days of summer won't last forever. The care you give your garden now will pay off when temperatures begin to cool and your fall garden comes to life.
What's at the top of your August gardening to-do list? Share it in the comments—we'd love to hear what you're working on!
For more information on the above subjects, check out the following links:
Cool Season Fall Planting Calendar for Southern Nevada; University of Nevada, Reno Extension. (n.d.).https://www.unlv.edu/.../CampusGarden-PlantingGuide.pdf ; andhttps://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/page_files/27/CampusLife_Planting-Calendar-LasVegas.pdf
Fall Gardening Checklist for Southern Nevada; University of Nevada, Reno Extension. (n.d.).; https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=3513
Identification of Common Landscape Pests and Beneficial Organisms in Nevada – Helpful or Harmful?” This guide includes photos and simple descriptions to help you identify what you’re seeing—and decide whether action is needed. Check it out here:https://naes.agnt.unr.edu/PMS/Pubs/2006-4051.pdf
Becoming a Desert Gardener; University of Nevada, Reno Extension. (n.d.). https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=3427
Home Vegetable Production in Southern Nevada; University of Nevada, Reno Extension. (n.d.).https://naes.agnt.unr.edu/PMS/Pubs/2002-3280.pdf
Irrigating (Watering) Your Vegetable Garden; University of Nevada, Reno Extension. (n.d.). https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=3526
Clark County Master Gardener Help Desk:
Visit the Master Gardener Help Desk at the Clark County UNR Extension office (8050 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89123) | Monday – Friday from 9 AM – 3 PM
Contact: [email protected] | 702-257-5556
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