May Gardening Tips: Need some garden inspiration? This is a great time for visiting your local nurseries and public gardens to help stimulate some new ideas and possibilities. Here are few ideas that will help you with you gardening this month.
Planting
Plant summer blooming perennials and annuals. Choose heat-tolerant plants like purslane and bougainvillea for hanging baskets in full sun. Some shade loving plants include hosta, ferns and violets. You can use a moisture control potting soil to allow for less frequent watering. You should put plenty of mulch around all plants and flowers to help control the soil temperature and retain moisture.
Vegetable Gardens
Plant okra, cucumbers, pumpkins, basil, garlic chives, peppers and sunflowers from seed. Container veggie transplants from the nursery in larger pots are okay to plant during May.
Weeding
Be vigilant about pulling weeds early, make sure areas are mulched properly to prevent future weeds from germinating and help to retain moisture.
Pruning
Pinch tips of coleus to prevent flowering and encourage bushier, fuller plants. Remove spent blooms on spring and summer annuals to promote new blooms.
Fertilizing
Fertilize flower beds and vegetable gardens with slow release organic fertilizers like Ladybug Flower Power, containers can be fertilized with water- soluble Hasta-gro.
Water
Deep root watering on trees, lawns and shrubs is best. It encourages roots to move down into the soil where they will be less susceptible to moisture changes.
Pests
Keep an eye out for pests as well as beneficial insects in your vegetable garden. Check your garden regularly; we have a broad range of pesticides to help your garden out.
Lawn
Keep your lawn healthy by watering, fertilizing with control-released nitrogen and mowing regularly to prevent pests.
Birds
Spring migration continues into mid-May. Clean birdbaths often and keep feeders full, and clean them after rainstorms to prevent soggy spoiled seed. Even non-birders can keep fresh water and food out at this time.
Visit your local Steinhauser’s for all things lawn and garden! Check out our gardening selection here.