May Gardening To-Do List
May kicks garden season into high gear — nothing is really off-limits this month. Get out and dig into gardening before the summer heat arrives. Here are a dozen suggestions you can start on if you haven’t already.
Plant Warm-Season Veggies
By month’s end, warm-season vegetables should be in the ground in all but the northern-most regions. This includes pepper, tomato, eggplant, squash, corn and cucumbers. Okra, black-eyed peas and melons are also on this list. Plant beans, too, growing several varieties so you have beans for fresh eating and drying. Direct sow seeds into the garden, or tuck in transplants. Once soil is warm, seeds quickly catch up with transplants.
Look for Healthy Roots
Healthy plant roots are white and fill the soil volume in the pot of a well-established plant. When plant shopping, you can often slip a plant out of its pot by gently squeezing the pot sides to see if the root system is healthy. You don’t need to do it on every plant, but if a plant seems small for the pot or has unhealthy-looking leaves, you might want to check the roots.
Fertilize Roses
Roses have big appetites and need feeding to fuel a stunning flower display. Plan to feed roses again by month’s end if you’re using a slow-release fertilizer. With liquid rose fertilizer, you’ll need to apply every two weeks until August. Some rose fertilizers include a pesticide to help defeat common rose pests like Japanese beetles. Read the label carefully, because these products often harm beneficial insects and pollinators.
Annual Strategy
Count on annuals, like these Madness petunias, to add season-long color to planting beds. It takes a lot of energy for annuals to produce non-stop flowers. The secret to success depends on two things: water and fertilizer. Plan to water landscape annuals two to three times a week, depending on rain. Add a layer of mulch to help soil retain moisture. Feed plants using a fertilizer labeled for annuals, following label directions. You may need to apply fertilizer a few times through the summer to keep the flower show going strong.
Mulch Wisely
One of the best tools you can use in your garden is mulch. It moderates soil temperatures, slows water evaporation from soil and helps suppress weeds. In spring, wait until soil has warmed before adding mulch, or you risk slowing plant growth. How thick should mulch be? When using shredded bark, a 2-inch-thick layer will do the trick in most areas. In warmest zones where mulch decomposes quickly, a 3-inch layer is helpful.
Win the War on Weeds
The best way to beat weeds is to start early in the season, using tools that make the task easier. Always aim to pull weeds before they go to seed. That’s Rule No. 1. The second strategy is to use a pre-emergent herbicide like Preen on mulched areas, bed edges and gravel paths. A pre-emergent helps prevent weed seeds from effectively taking root and growing. Follow label directions carefully, and reapply as needed in three months or so. Never apply pre-emergent herbicides to areas where you plan to sow seeds.
Go Big on Basil
Another must-have herb for the garden is basil — and at this point soil and air are warm enough to plant this tropical herb in all but the most northern regions. Gardener cooks prize basil for its flavorful leaves, but pollinators love the blooms. Plant several varieties to learn the flavors, and be sure to include tall, extra-flowering ‘African Blue’ basil (shown). It’s a butterfly and hummingbird magnet.
Fill Your Salad Bowl
Harvest salad crops frequently, including spinach, leaf lettuce, radish or scallions. With leaf lettuce, pick the outer leaves on individual plants, or harvest heads by either pulling the entire plant (if soil is super loose) or cutting, leaving a 1-inch stem stub behind. The stem stub will resprout and yield another crop, especially if it’s early in the month. This harvest method is called “cut and come again.”
Refresh Potting Soil
In large, heavy container gardens that are permanently placed, it’s important to replace some of the soil each time you plant. Remove the top 4 to 6 inches of soil (more for deeper containers, less for shallow), and add new in its place. Blend in a handful or three of homemade compost, especially if you’re growing edible crops, like this ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard. The best potting soil for containers is a commercial, bagged mix labeled for container use. Leave room for a mulch layer at the top of the pot.
Mix Edibles With Flowers
Make room for edible crops in existing planting beds. Tuscan kale provides a sculptural backdrop for Echibeckia or other bloomers. Tomato, pepper, cabbage, pole beans — really any vegetable crops can co-exist with annuals and perennials. Get creative with combinations that please both the eyes and the palate.
Fill a Shade Garden
If you have a shady spot that could use some season-long color, look no further than native variegated solomon’s seal (Polygonatum odoratum var. pluriflorum ‘Variegatum’). It thrives in moist or dry shade and offers white spring blooms that beckon pollinators. Variegated leaves look terrific from spring to fall, when they shift to gold tones. The best part comes after frost, when leaves and stems fade and then literally disappear over winter. It’s no-fuss, no-muss perennial perfect for a low-maintenance shade garden
Stake Tall Perennials
Get a jump on floppy plants by inserting stakes in spring as soon as new growth appears. Grow-through type stakes are especially important to add early for plants like hollyhock, peony, monkshood and delphinium. You can also support individual hollyhock stems with bamboo stakes, especially if they’re in a windy spot. Remember that hollyhocks are occasionally short-lived perennials but mostly biennials, meaning one year they produce a tuft of leaves, followed by a flower stem the second year.
