“The world’s favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May.”
– Edwin Way Teale
This is our time! If you are a gardener, May is coming into full bloom. Perennials are starting to take off. You are probably planting some fill-in annuals in beds, containers, or hanging baskets. There are weeds to be pulled. Ugh! Veggies to be planted and cared for and beds to be shored up for the long summer ahead.
So here we go. Make your To-Do list and check it twice. The results will be well worth it!
- Walk around public areas or neighbor’s gardens and get some ideas on some plants that draw your attention. Take photos and add them to your garden journal so that you can identify them at your local garden center or on a plant identification app. Then seek them out as you venture out shopping at your local nursery.
(Photo submitted by Jamela Woertz, a contestant in our recent Green Thumb Gardening contest. - Garden centers and nurseries are brimming with plants, containers, and everything garden-related. Do you have anything on your wish list? Keep a garden shopping list in your garden journal and jot down any supplies you still need at the garden center.
- Ensure that your garden has the flowering plants it needs to attract beneficial pollinators. The hummers, bees, and butterflies will be grateful!
- Use your sketched-out garden design plans to figure out where your new plants and seedlings will go.
- If you constructed new raised garden beds over the winter and haven’t set them out yet, now is the time! Fill them with raised bed soil or compost and lots of organic matter.
- Calculate the amount of soil that you will need to fill up your garden beds. Are your raised beds very deep? Layer compost and raised bed soil on top. The organic matter will break down over time and save you money by taking up square footage, so you can use more raised bed soil and compost elsewhere.
- Decide what you still need to fill gaps in your garden. This is best to do before you head to the store, so you know what you are looking for.
- Are you thinking of adding fruit plants or summer bulbs to the garden? Now is a great time to hit the garden center when the varieties are readily available.
Weeding 101
Those pesky weeds make quite an entrance throughout May. The upside is that if you have a keen eye and pull them early in the month, they are much easier to eliminate. Continually patrol your May gardens for weeds and pluck them out whenever you see them. Keep other spring weeds under control by adding a couple of inches to mulch to your garden beds.
Mulch, mulch, mulch
Although I have several pine trees in my yard, meaning a lot of pine straw, my go-to is pine bark mini nuggets. I like the way they look in my flower beds and containers.
Mulching and amending can be the difference between a prolific garden and a mediocre one. Just as mulch insulated your gardens over the winter and early spring, it will keep your plant roots cool as the temperatures begin to heat up in your May gardens. This is particularly beneficial for your cool-season crops, which seek to bolt in warmer temperatures.
Adding a couple of inches of mulch to your garden beds can also help stomp out reseeding weeds and regulate moisture.
Food & water
Yep, we all have to eat and we all need water. Plants are no exception.
Treat your perennials and shrubs to a feeding of some slow-release organic fertilizer this month to give them their best start to a showstopping growing season. Also, when the temperatures heat up into the 80s, the evaporation rate is about 1/8th to 1/4 of an inch a day. If it’s windy, the evaporation rate will be higher.
One final note, don’t forget our fine feathered friends. Keep your feeders clean and full. The same goes for your birdbaths.
