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Gardening Tips for May

By Joe Daniels

Here is some sage advice given to me many years ago....and how could I forget it.

May the light always find you on a dreary day.
When you need to be home, may you find your way.
May you always have courage to take a chance,
And never find frogs in your underpants.

This is a warm and witty wish and a funny reminder to be grateful for the little things. Enjoy your spring gardening, and watch out for those frogs.

Well it's time to get out the pain killers and start crawling and digging through your gardens.
Enjoy the month of May and all the fun gardening chores that are associated with it.....and here are a few more to try and accomplish......

• Check your soil by purchasing a soil test kit. It will tell you if you need to adjust the pH or add nutrients.
• Make those fun trips to the local garden centers to see what is available for your garden this summer. Make sure to place your new annuals and perennials in the right spots. Read those labels and place them correctly.
• Don't be concerned about ants crawling on your peonies, as they are not harming them. They are seeking the sweet juices that healthy buds secrete.
• Weed control. It's a fact of life that the weeds in the garden grow faster than the flowers and vegetables you plant. Not really, but it sure seems like it so that's why it's important to stay on top of the weeding
  It's a lot easier to pull a few weeds every day or squirt them with a natural weed killer as you stroll by the garden beds than to pull a lot of weeds once a month.
  

Houseplants

• Divide indoor plants after new growth begins.
• Root cuttings of many plants now.
• Move some of the houseplants outdoors when you know the night temperature will not fall below 55. Repot if necessary. Place them in a shady area and gradually move them to their preferred light level as they adapt to the brighter outdoor light.

Bulbs

• Allow the leaves of your spring bulbs (daffodils, tulips, etc.) to brown after flowering. The leaves need to re main to nourish the bulb for the next year's flowers.
• Clean up the foliage of the earlier hardy bulbs when it has ripened to the point that it easily detaches from the underground bulb when you tug on it.
• Remember, DON'T tie up your bulb foliage or even braid it, the foliage needs to be able to send back nourishment to the bulb and it won't work as well if the foliage is tied up.
• Start planting tender summer blooming bulbs (dahlias, cannas, tuberous begonias, and gladio) in the ground. You should have already started them in pots in April.
• Plant the first wave of gladiola corms mid-month. To enjoy continuous blooms over the season, plant more corms every two weeks until July.

Compost

• Start a new compost pile or bin if you do not have one. Check for our upcoming compost workshops.
• Turn the compost pile. Now that it's warm again, those organisms will be swinging into action turning those leaves, grass clippings, and kitchen waste into rich organic soil.
• Maintain "food" (garden trimmings), moisture, and keep pile turned.

Vegetable Gardens

• Begin to prepare tomato plants raised indoors to be moved outdoors by the end of the month or when all danger of frost is over.
• It is best to wait until May 15 even Memorial Day to plant summer crops of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, limas, squash, and other warm season vegetables.
• Apply 2 inches of mulch to plants after soaking the ground, but avoid over-watering and do not cover small plants.
• Slugs may be a problem for seedlings and transplants, check plants in the evening around 10:00 PM with a flashlight to confirm this (don't worry about the neighbors...they already know how gardeners act). Setting out small pans of yeast and water, or beer will act as slug bait.

Herbs

• Plant annual, biennial and perennial herbs out doors for use in foods , or mix them with annuals and perennials in a container by the door..

Lawns

• Mow your lawn regularly, generally once a week, but adapt this to the type of grass you have and how fast it is growing.
• Sow new lawns and reseed older ones before summer heat takes its toll.
• If you did not apply fertilizer earlier this spring along with an herbicide and turf growth is slowing down, fertilize the lawn to maintain its color and health.
• Look for grackles and starlings feeding in lawns, as this may indicate an infestation of sod webworm.

Perennials, Biennials and Annuals

• Move seedlings started indoors or purchased to the garden in mid to late May.
• Think twice before putting in annuals in early May. The weather may seem warm, but there is always a possibility of a late frost until May 15th, so be careful!
• Late spring is ideal for planting and dividing perennials. By now you should have a good idea of what survived the winter and needs dividing, or transplanting if you're planning on redesigning the garden. Divide crowded perennials if they are still small and have not set flower buds.
• Sow seed in the ground of sunflowers, cosmos, and other direct seeded annuals for summer flowers.
• Begin to stake weak stemmed perennials like delphiniums when they are 6-8" tall.
• Avoid planting any of the loosestrifes, as they can become a serious weed and destroy the habitat of native plants and animals.
• Remember some perennials may disappear after blooming (bleeding heart, Virginia bluebells, oriental poppies). They go dormant for the summer and they will return next year.

Trees and Shrubs

• Keep newly planted conifers well watered.
• Deciduous trees can still be planted before summer heat makes it inadvisable.
• Remember to prune forsythia, quince, azalea, daphne, and other spring bloomers after they bloom.
• Fruit trees should be pruned when they are still dormant (before flowering), or otherwise wait until fall.
• Add more nitrogen fertilizer to areas where fresh wood chips or bark mulch is added.
• Avoid damage to trees and shrubs from lawn mowers and string trimmers.
• Watch for caterpillars eating the needles off pine trees as they are often the larvae of sawflies.

Roses

• Prune out deadwood.
• Water regularly, especially roses planted this spring.
• Apply 2-3 inches of mulch to help retain water.
• Fertilize as indicated by a soil test.