May Gardening Tips
Things to Do: |
Things To Plant: |
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Fertilize: |
Flower Plants: |
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Feed all spring-blooming shrubs after they have bloomed. Feed amaryllis after they bloom. Feed and mulch iris. Feed crape myrtle with 1/2 cup/sq. yd. of 3-1-2 ratio fertilizer beneath the branch spread
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Water: |
Flower Seeds: |
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Apply 1" of water to your lawn weekly. A tip for making sure you are watering 1" is to place a tuna can out on the lawn before you run your sprinkler system. After that station as ended check to see if 1" of water is in the can, if there is less, set the system to run a little longer to adjust. Check hanging baskets daily, and water as needed. Keep an eye on those newly planted annuals. They need regular watering especially when first planted, and when planted in full sun. |
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Transplant: |
Bulbs: |
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| There is still time to transplant perennials before the summer heat. | ||
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Soil Preparation: |
Vegetable Plants: |
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| We have invested in a Compost Tea Machine. The Compost Tea is ready every Saturday morning. Compost Tea is a great way to bring new life to the soil in your lawn, flower, and vegetable beds. It can be applied around a weak tree, or shrub to help bring it back to health. | Artichoke, Spinach, Okra, Southern Pea, Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, Tomatillo, , Watermelon. | |
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Lawn Care: |
Herbs: |
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Mow every 5 -7 days leaving the clippings on the lawn. Keep St. Augustine at about 2 1/2 to 3" high. Apply 1" of water as needed to wet soil throughly. Check for Brown Patch in St. Augustine. |
May is a great time to plant any type of herb. Get out there and plant while it is still fairly cool. If you are limited on space, herbs grow very well in pots. Be sure not to water them too much. Herbs like to be dry. | |
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Diseases/Pests to look out for: |
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| Look for worms on your Mountain Laruel. They usually show up every year at this time, and seem to gravitate to the Mountain Laurel. Come in and get some BT worm killer. BT is an organic product that will not harm the birds if they happen to snack on a dead worm. Be sure to check your plants for aphids, spider mites, and stink bugs on your plants, especially in your garden. We have an organic product called Spinosad that woks very well on most insects found in your garden, and yard, and is not harmful to children, or pets, and will not harm your vegetables. Check your roses for black spot, apply a liquid fungicide, you may also want to sprinkle some corn meal in the soil as well. Crepe Myrtles are suseptable to powdery mildew when we have a unusually wet spring. you can also spray a liquid fungicide to get rid of it as well.
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Prune: |
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| Prune spring flowering shrubs, and trees after they bloom. Prune climbing roses another roses that have finished blooming. Pinch back annuals to encourage bushier growth. Be sure to dead head old blooms to encourage blooming. Remove sucker shoots from tomato plants go get earlier, and larger fruit. | ||