Late summer heat still hanging around, so review irrigation now as the best planting time of the year approaches

The transition to fall happens now, though the heat will linger for a while. Days grow noticeably shorter and nights a bit cooler. I'm always sad to say goodbye to summer and dinners eaten on the patio, watching the moon rise from the east.

* Sign up for online course "Fundamentals of Southern California Gardening," which kicks off this month. It's the only course designed specifically for Southern California gardeners, with information and advice that works here, rather than in Massachusetts or Michigan. Learn about soil, sun, rainfall, and how to choose plants that thrive in your garden. Participate in field trips, become part of the community, and more. Information and registration are at bit.ly/SoCalFundamentals.

We're on the long runway to fall, in preparation for the BEST planting time of the year. Plan now, so once the weather cools, you're ready to get growing .

* Make a list of your garden goals for this year: add a pergola, start a vegetable garden, freshen up a flower bed? What else?

* Take photos of your garden in black and white. The lack of color allows you to focus on the shapes and spaces. That helps you find gaps to be filled, spaces to be redesigned, etc.

* Measure the height and width of any spaces to be planted or replanted. Use those dimensions to find plants to fill the space but not grow larger. Too-large plants need to be pruned forever. Save yourself the work and leave your plants to look natural.

* Hydrozone: Match new plants to each bed's existing irrigation schedule. Don't plant thirsty plants into dry beds nor vice versa.

* As you add new plants, choose some that bloom or fruit in a different seasons than the existing plant.

* Many of our best perennials are fine leaved and have small flowers. Show them off by adding fleshy leaved succulent plants, long bladed grassy looking plants, etc. The contrast enhances the best characteristics of each plant.

* Want to learn more about on getting ready for fall? Watch my on-demand class, "Pro Tips for Fall Planting," at bit.ly/PlantForFall.

The goal of irrigation is to wet plant roots. Roots grow in the soil beneath the plant, extending out in 360 degrees from the main trunk or stem and down deep. For your plant to reach full size, you have to wet the soil out as far as you want roots to grow and as deep as the roots are. That's not wasting water, it's growing healthy plants.

* Inline drip irrigation is the best and most efficient irrigation for all plants including natives. The irrigation looks like long, narrow hoses with holes every six or 12 inches. Inside the lines, however, each hole connects to a very sophisticated emitter that releases water a drop at a time.

* Since inline drip releases water very slowly, it has to run a long time -- 45 minutes, an hour, two hours or more -- depending on the plants' water needs, how fast the soil drains, and how long it takes for water to penetrate down to plant roots.

* Keep vegetable bed soils damp (not wet) at all times. It's typical to run inline drip irrigation in your vegetable beds two or three times a week, until the weather cools.

* For mature drought-resilient plants, natives and succulents, deep water just once every few weeks or even once a month. Always water deeply but infrequently.

* Figure out how often to water each garden bed by using my Canary Test. Find the directions at bit.ly/CanaryNational.

* Mulch all garden beds with a 3-inch-thick layer of mulch: straw mulch for vegetables, stone or rock mulch for cacti and other succulents, wood-based mulch (not bark chunks) for all other plants.

* No matter the irrigation method, always water until the water penetrates all the way down to plant roots. After the irrigation runs, test how deep the water has gone by digging into the soil, using a soil probe, or sticking your finger as deep as it will go. Is it wet all the way down? If not, water more.

* Warm season veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers and squash are starting to wind down. Remove plants as production wanes. Since these plants often have viruses, fungi and bacteria, send them off in the greenwaste rather than composting them at home.

* Plan for next year by tracking how the different varieties produced. That's the best way to avoid wasting time, money and hopes on poor performers next year.

* Track the nightshades so you don't plant them in the same place next year. Tomato, pepper, tomatillo, eggplant and potato are all susceptible to the same set of soil diseases. Next year, plant them where you grew melons or basil, okra or other plants this year. Crop rotation is critical for plant health.

* Pick ripe fruits and vegetables to eat, to preserve and to keep scavengers from eating before you can.

* Dehydrate surplus tomatoes to make tomato "raisins." Find directions at bit.ly/2manytomatoes.

* Feed melons and pumpkin plants.

* Set melons, winter squash and pumpkins onto a bed of straw or an upside-down yogurt container to keep them off the soil. Remove fruits with soft spots or insect damage.

* Harvest pumpkins and melons when the stems turn brown and start to pull away from the fruits, the undersides yellow a bit, and they sound hollow when slapped. Alternatively, wait for the vine to completely die back, then harvest.

* Loofa are basically squashes left to mature and dry on the vine. That's when they form the fibrous network that we think of as natural sponges. After you harvest, scrape away the hard brown rind and shake out the black seeds, leaving only the fiber behind. Wash the "sponges" before you use them.

* Late in the month, start seeds for cool season veggies like broccoli, spinach, kale, chard, etc. These seedlings will be ready to plant when the weather cools in October

* Buy seeds for cover crops to plant in October. Choose seeds based on your garden's needs: Some cover crops add nitrogen, others loosen compacted soil, some add organic matter, repel pests, etc.

* Did your fig fruits turn brown and fall off while still hard? Blame the black fig fly. Buy drawstring mesh bags now so you are ready to put them on the tree next year when the fruits and leaves start to develop. That's the best way to keep the flies from infecting the fruits. As an added bonus, the bags keep green fruit beetles and rats away.

* Shorten the new growth on peach, plum, apple and other deciduous fruit trees now (you'll prune again for fruiting and shaping in winter). Shortening branches keeps future fruits within reach. Watch a video to see how at bit.ly/summerprune.

* Pineapple guavas ripen and "self-harvest" this month. Wait for the oval green fruits to drop on the ground. Gather them, cut them open and enjoy their sweet, cream-colored flesh.

* Fertilize citrus and avocado. Use organic fertilizers and follow label directions. Pull back mulch, apply the fertilizer, and water it in. Replace the mulch.

* Thrips on your houseplants? Scale? Mealy bugs? Put the plants outside in a shaded spot for fresh air and rejuvenation. The pests' natural predators will eat them. Leave the plants outside until the weather threatens to cool in October.

* If your houseplants are infested with tiny, flying gnats, water less. In addition, cover potting soil in an inch-thick layer of small round pebbles or marbles or other inert material. The pebbles block gnats so they can't lay their eggs in wet potting mix. Mosquito Bits granules also kill fungus gnats.

* There's still enough time to solarize grass and weeds if you start right away. The sun must be high in the sky to superheat the soil to "cook" plants, weeds and seeds in the upper layer. This simple process involves clear (NOT black) plastic and takes 6 to 8 weeks in the hottest months of the year. Beneficial soil microbes die in the process, so mulch afterward to re-establish their populations. Find directions at bit.ly/3giAdy1.

* Clean up dried-out foliage, dead branches and other dead plant parts -- in part for aesthetics but more importantly, for fire safety. Dead, dry leaves, grasses and branches are more flammable than living plants.

* If your plants look a little droopy at the end of the day, don't water. In the intense heat, some plants naturally lose water to the air faster than their roots replace it from the soil (that's why it's important to water deeply enough to get water down to the plant roots). Overnight, the roots catch up and the leaves perk up. However, if leaves are still droopy in the morning, its time to water.

* Plant spring flowering species gladiolus like Byzantine gladiolus (Gladiolus byzantinus) and marsh Afrikaner (Gladiolus tristis), the parents of many fancy hybrid glads. Learn about the huge selection of drought resilient bulbs that light up our gardens in my on-demand class "Flower Power, Fabulous Bulbs for California Gardens" at bit.ly/FabBulb.

* Aedes mosquitoes are aggressive little daytime biters that bite legs and ankles. They lay their eggs in standing water (as little as a quarter inch deep) indoors and out. So be vigilant about emptying water dishes, screening rain barrels, and running fountains to prevent standing water. Add mosquito fish to ponds. Fix torn window screens to keep mosquitoes out of your house and about wear insect repellant when you head outside.

* Wash dusty leaves using a Bug Blaster hose end nozzle. These nozzles put out a sharp spray of water to clean leaves and blast away pests. Spray leaves top and bottom, stems, branches, etc.

* Check for masses of tiny, disorganized webs on leaves and stems of trees and shrubs. Those webs are made by spider mites. Use your Bug Blaster to blow them away!

* When scale, mealy bugs, and aphids appear on your plants, look for the ants. Ants "farm" these tiny suckers, moving them from plant to plant. The solution is a two-pronged approach 1) to control the ants and 2) to wash away the scale, mealy bugs, and aphids. Use a boric acid-based bait for the ants or Advion ant gel stations (works great!). Wash away aphids. Smother scale with a spray of light horticultural oil (NOT Neem).

* Giant whitefly can make even the happiest hibiscus look like an old man with a scraggly white beard. Spray off the sticky white strands and the bugs using sharp spray from the Bug Blaster, then use a very thick layer of worm castings to cover all the soil under the shrub. The worm castings help the plant fight off giant whitefly invasion.