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 May is one of the busiest months for
the avid gardener. Much planning and planting occurs this month. Below are some
tips that one can do for this month.
The average last frost date for this area is 4/10—4/21. So, we
should be safe for planting many of the annuals and perennials hardy here.
Time to have fun!
Interior Gardening Annuals
Bulbs & Perennials
Lawns
Vegetables
Weeds
Pest Control
Planning
Miscellaneous
Interior Gardening
 | Adding fertilizer to a dry root ball burns the roots, damaging or
killing the plant. So water dry houseplants before fertilizing and
NEVER fertilize wilted plants. |
| Once established on a house plant, powdery mildew is very difficult to
eradicate. If there are only a few spots (gray or white, fuzzy
looking), pick off and destroy the affected leaves. If the problem
is more serious, it's best to get rid of the plant before the fungus
spreads to other plants. Powdery mildew is caused by stale, moist
air and too much water. Provide better ventilation or use a small
fan to circulate the air. Cut down on watering. |
| Divide indoor plants when new growth starts in spring. Root
cuttings during spring and summer when the plant is actively growing. |
| Vacation hint: Sink house plants, pots and all, in the soil in a shady
area of the garden. Mulch to reduce the need for frequent watering. |
| House plants in containers without drainage holes are poor candidates
for outside. A rainstorm may drown and rot them. All plants
perform better in containers with drainage. |
| House plants may be moved outside when the nighttime temperatures are
above 50°. Start by putting them in a
well-shaded location and progressing to increasingly lighted areas. |
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Annuals
| Plant hardy annuals such as petunia, dianthus, snapdragon and pansy as
well as most summer flowering annuals. |
| Make hanging baskets of fuchsia, geranium, and impatiens. |
| Plant caladiums and tuberous begonias in shady spots. |
| Packs of seedlings may set out to harden them off before
transplanting. |
| When you begin to plant your herb garden, don't forget to set out
enough for the butterflies. |
| Use a liquid fertilizer on established annuals. |
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Bulbs & Perennials
| Start planting bulbs of dahlia, lily, and gladiola. Glads may be
planted every week from now till early July for continuous displays and
cuttings. |
| Remove fading flowers from tulips and daffodils and give them a dose
of fertilizer. Leave their leaves to help produce bulbs for next
year. Some gardeners "braid" or tie the leaves together to keep their gardens
looking tidy. |
| Use a rose fertilizer or an all-purpose garden fertilizer on roses,
perennials and deciduous and annual trees and shrubs. Water
thoroughly. |
| When your old friends start poking through, give them a light dose of
fertilizer. |
| Prune early blooming shrubs after the flowers fade and fall off.
Then fertilize and mulch. |
| You can buy and plant new trees and shrubs this month. |
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Lawns
| You may now aerate, feed and over-seed those bald patches. |
| Now is a good time to add a high dose of nitrogen to warm season
grasses.
Better yet, lay down about an inch of compost. |
| Make sure you add at least 1 inch of water per week if it doesn't
rain. |
| When grass reaches 3½ to 4 inches, cut only
the top 1 inch with your sharp mower blade and leave the clippings on the
lawn for nourishment and to help prevent weeds. |
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Vegetables
| Be aware of vegetable planting times as well as
plant compatibility. |
| It should be safe now to plant vegetables such
as beans, peas, potatoes, lettuce, carrots, corn and chard. |
| If the soil temperature is at least 60°, sow
cucumbers, squash, melons, peppers, tomatoes and other annuals. |
| Beans can be planted with peas, corn and
potatoes, but keep them away from leeks, garlic, onions and shallots. |
| Carrots, tomatoes and lettuce mix well, but not
with dill. |
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Weeds
| Now is the time to get a hold of weeds before they get established. |
| If you use sprays, be sure to choose a warm day without wind. |
| Take your time and remove weeds by hand if possible, especially the
flowers. There will be much less work later. |
| Do not put your weeds in a compost pile unless it reaches high
temperatures. |
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Pest Control
| Reduce the slug population by setting out stale beer in shallow
saucers, or remove them by hand. Your garden will thank you later. |
| Aphids are here. Knock them off plants with a strong water hose
spray or use insecticidal soap spray. |
| Prune out limbs containing tent caterpillars, especially on crabapple
and fruit trees, and destroy the limbs. |
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Planning
| Keep a diary of everything you have planted, or even make a landscape
map. |
| Keep areas available to plant late summer and fall bloomers for an
ever-blooming landscape. |
| Plan areas for new gardens for next year and start preparing the soil
so that they will be fertile for planting at that time. |
| Plan spots for your deck or patio for that Memorial Day party and
later events. Set out container plants to create a variety of
colors. |
Miscellaneous
| Experiments in England suggest that sugar water might be a more effective
bait for slugs than beer. Slugs preferred an agar gel containing 2 to 5
percent sucrose (table sugar). Artificial sweeteners were ineffective. |
| Chitin has been found to reduce nematodes in garden soil. Chitin can
be found in seafood meal made from dried pulverized crab and shrimp parts. |
| The efficiency of air conditioner compressors can be increased by up to 10
percent if they are shaded by trees or shrubs. However, if you have an
evaporative cooler, let the sun shine on it. Evaporative units need the
sun to operate efficiently. |
| Toads eat cutworms and other insect pests. Give them a home in your
garden by placing inverted, clay flower pots in shady spots. Chip out a
piece of the pot rim to give the toads an entrance to their home. |
| Where earwigs and sowbugs are a problem, try trapping them with rolled up
newspapers moistened with water. The insects will hide in the papers by
day. Gather up the traps and dispose of them frequently. |
| Algae and lichens are primitive plants that grow nearly anywhere there is
adequate moisture for them. Although they are often found growing on
tree trunks, algae and lichens generally do not harm trees; often they
indicate stressful conditions, such as soil compaction, poor drainage, or
insufficient fertilizer. |
| Avoid using peat moss as a mulch. It tends to form a tight mat,
virtually impermeable to light rain once it becomes dry. It is best
mixed in with soil as a conditioner. |
| Of the 39 snakes found in Virginia, 35 are beneficial to the farmer and
the gardener. They eat insects and rodents. Of particular value is
the large, black, rat snake which consumes large numbers of mice, rats, and
other small mammals. |
| If you see ants crawling about on garden plants, look for aphids as well.
Some ant species protect aphids, moving them from plant to plant and even
taking them underground into the anthill for overnight safety. The ants
do this to ensure a supply of honeydew, a sugary water substance secreted by
aphids, on which ants feed. |
| Insect plant galls may be unsightly, but cause no damage to the plant
affected. They are nothing more than a insect dwelling formed when the
insect injects a growth-promoting chemical into the plant. The plant
walls off the insect to prevent damage to other tissue, and the insect is
protected by the gall until it emerges as an adult. |
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"Gardening
is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it."