Interest in home-grown fruit and vegetable gardening is continuing to grow.
Customers are asking more questions about starting seeds and how and where to grow vegetables.
Interest in raised bed gardening, growing vegetables in containers, and even how to use pallets, in growing vegetables.
The rising costs of food, the use of chemicals in the growing of fresh fruits and vegetables, the lack of enough water and climate change in vegetable growing regions are some of the reasons for this trend, not to mention the joy of growing your own!
“Growing your own” is a trend that will only continue to expand.
There is no reason you can’t have a small vegetable patch or container garden somewhere to produce fresh tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers for your salad.
May is the most active month for beginning to plant vegetables.
The soil is warming up and the last frost date normally has past.
Begin by planting seeds for green beans, lima beans, cucumbers, squash and sweet corn.
Transplants of tomatoes, eggplants and peppers, okra, and sweet potatoes all should be planted this month.
Plant in well-drained soil, enriched with Leafgro or some other compost, use a liquid starter fertilizer for both seeds and transplants.
I also recommend an organic fertilizer be worked in the soil next to the transplants.
Use a high calcium fertilizer such as Espoma’s Tomato tone to prevent blossom-end-rot, for tomatoes and peppers.
Remember to check the pH for your soil which should be between 6.0 and 6.8 for most vegetables.
Be sure to water after planting and provide enough soil moisture (rain or irrigation) for the first three weeks for root establishment.
Watch for early spring pests which also begin to become active now. Aphids, cabbage worms, cucumber beetles, Colorado potato beetles are just a few of the pest to check for. Use organic pesticides to prevent chemical residues on your vegetables. To prevent weeds, put down a weed barrier landscape fabric. For a more organic method consider using layers of newspaper or even cardboard boxes with straw on top to prevent weeds from growing in between plants and plant rows.
Mowing the lawn is now in full force. Keep your blades sharp as not to pull or tear the grass blades. Mow often enough so you never have to cut off more than a third of the grass in order to maintain the recommended height of 3- to 4-inches. Remember to irrigate the lawn to give your lawn at least an inch of moisture a week.
If weeds are a problem, I recommend Bonide’s Weed Beater Ultra. It will kill more than 200 varieties of lawn weeds including, dandelions, plantain, chickweed, ground ivy, clover and many more, without harming the lawn.
As the tulips finish blooming, consider applying Espoma’s Bulbtone or Bonemeal at the recommend rate of 4-6 pounds per 100 square feet. This will help perennialize any newly planted bulbs, as well as feeding established bulbs to help with bigger and more blooms for next year. Don’t be tempted to cut back the foliage until it becomes completely yellow. The sun will feed the bulb as long as the leaves are green.
Fill in the gaps left by the passing of spring flowering bulbs by planting annual flowers that will bloom all summer long.
Prune back the branches of your forsythia and other just finished spring woody plants.
Prune out any thin or disease branches and never take more than a third of the total plant mass when pruning. This will insure new healthy growth for the plant.
May is also the time when many tropical blooming plants become available for use around your deck or pool. Hibiscus, Mandevilla and many other tropical blooming varieties are available and all need a full sun location to insure proper blooming.
Pick a day of the week and do weekly feeding with Super Bloom by Scotts the first and third week of the month and a tablespoon of Epsom Salt to one gallon of water the second and fourth week of the month.
This will insure continued blooming the entire growing season.
This method works well also for annual hanging baskets and container plants.
Remember flowers for Mom and have a Happy May, a Happy Mother’s Day, and of course, Happy Gardening!
(Editor’s Note: Ken Morgan is the owner of Robin’s Nest Floral and Garden Center in Easton, Md.)