GARDENING CHORES IN MAY
MAY
Tulips should be dead-headed(remove spent flower)
The grass can be mowed when it reaches 3-4 inches (sorry, but
it IS that time again!)
Hold off mulching until the soil is warm, or you'll just keep
the cold in!
You can now plant lettuce, beans, corn and carrots right in the
soil.
Tomatoes can be planted when the lilacs bloom. You might sprinkle
a teaspoon of Epsom salts into the hole where they go to provide magnesium.
Marigolds, zinnias and even nasturtiums are good to plant in and around
your vegetables as well as the flower beds. They repel insects!
You can begin to plant gladiolas at 2 week intervals
You can fertilize any bulbs that are up.
Stake your peonies before they get too big
Harvest rhubarb by grabbing it at the base of the stalk and pulling firmly away from the crown, twisting just a bit. Be sure to throw the leaves into the compost as they are poisonous!
You can prune your spring blooming shrubs just as soon as the flowers have faded.
posted by North Country Maturing Gardener @ 5/08/2005
3 comments
3 Comments:
Hehe, I have to wait until the grass is 3-4 inches long before mowing? The only time it's ever LESS that that is in the sweltering heat of our hottest summers when we withold water and let it die back so we don't have to mow! Here in the Pacific Northwest, people (fanatics) are out mowing in late January. We tend to wait until either the neighbors stop talking to us and stare pointedly at the neglected lawn or small children get lost in the grass before we do the first mowing, which my DH dreads, because by March, the grass is nearly two feet tall.
I like your style Gabrille! Grass should NOT bew cut until it's about 2-3 inches tall anyway! For a few reasons: 1) It will live better through the dry times. 2)It will shade out crab grass and other weeds! So it will actually be healthier!
Then you SHOULD cut about 1/3 of the length of the grass, so if you let it grow to 3 inches, set the mower to cut it at 2 inches. Then let the cut grass REMAIN on the lawn. It will fall into the ground and provide nutrients as it breaks down.
Then don't worry abaout the neighbors. The looks you are getting are ones of envy...
Gosh! Sorry about the spelling...next time, I'll read it before I post it! :-)
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