After the washout rains over the last several weeks it was good to get a little relief and nice weather during the later part of the week. However, with Gustav approaching and many more on the way, during the storm is not the time to decide what to do. If you have any questions related to hurricane preparedness I strongly recommend you go to the MSU Extension Service web-site at msucares.com/disaster/ for information on a wide range of advice in preparing for these unpredictable times.

Q: Can I prune in the summertime?

A: Yes, you can prune in the summer but the type of pruning you do is important. If you have limbs that are diseased, dead or hazardous go ahead and remove them. Especially if summer growth that has put limbs and branches hanging down into your eyes or limbs that drag the antenna off your car every morning. Most of your spring flowering trees and shrubs have already set out their buds so I would avoid heavy pruning but maintenance pruning is always a good thing. On crape myrtles, remove suckers that form along the base of the tree or on main limbs. On fruit trees you can also remove shoots that form along the trunk or main branches.

Q: When is a good time to start renovating my landscape?

A: Late summer and early fall is a good time for planting new plants and redoing landscape features around your home. One area to think about is the entry area into your home or drive way.

Are there some new things you can plant to make it more inviting to guest or add more color to the entire landscape, perhaps you can simply add some solar ground lights or widen a walkway? Small things often make a big impact. Just be sure to pace yourself, instead of a major overhaul of your landscape it is usually easier for the do-it-yourselfer to focus in on one area at a time.

Just remember after all this rain the ground may still be saturated. You will want to avoid walking in soils that leave a large foot impression where you step; this will leave the soil with major compaction when it dries causing enhanced stress on the roots of plants.

Let me reiterate something I said last week. Be on the lookout for bacterial disease symptoms, particularly on peppers, tomatoes and vine crops.

Be prepared with copper based fungicides should any begin threatening your garden. The several days of constant rain and temperatures in the 80s are ideal for these disease organisms to thrive, and it appears this may be the case later on in the week.

David Carter is the director of the Adams County Extensions Service. He can be reached at 601-445-8201.