Do you ever have problems remembering what plants to plant when? The Natural Gardener breaks it down month by month so you will never forget again. Also, you can always count on Heinen Landscape to answer all your gardening and planting questions. This is your guide to help you with planting though the month of May.
SOW SEEDS
Vegetables: Lima Beans, Snap Beans, Chard, Cucumber, Okra, Black-Eyed Peas, Peppers, Pumpkin, Malabar Spinach, New Zealand Spinach, Summer Squash, Winter Squash, Tomatillo.
Fruits: Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Watermelon.
Herbs: Anise, Basil, Bay, Catnip, Comfrey, Cumin, Fennel, Germander, Horehound, Lamb’s Ear, Lavender, Oregano, Perilla, Rosemary, Sage, Summer Savory, Winter Savory, Sorrel, Southernwood, Tansy, Tarragon, Thyme.
Annuals: Castor Bean, Celosia, Coleus, Cypress Vine, Four O’clocks, Gomphrena, Gourds, Hyacinth Bean Vine, Impatiens, Marigold, Moonflower Vine, Morning Glory Vine, Periwinkle, Sunflower, Tithonia, Zinnia and many others.
PLANT
Vegetables: Chard, Cucumber, Eggplant, Malabar Spinach, New Zealand Spinach, Okra, Peppers, Summer Squash, Winter Squash, Sweet Potato slips, Tomatillo.
Fruits: Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Watermelon.
Herbs: Artemesias (Mugwort, Southernwood, Wormwood), Basil, Bay Laurel, Beebalm, Catnip, Catmint, Comfrey, Echinacea, Epazote, Lamb’s Ear, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Mexican Mint Marigold, Mints, Oregano, Pennyroyal, Rosemary, Sage, Winter Savory, Tansy, Thyme, Yarrow.
Annuals: Ageratum, Amaranthus (Joseph’s Coat), Balsam, Begonia, Blue Daze, Celosia, Coleus, Copper Plant, Dusty Miller, Gazania, Geranium, Gomphrena, Impatiens, Marigold, Mexican Heather, Nierembergia, Penta, Periwinkle, Portulaca, Purslane, Torenia, Zinnia and many more.
Perennials: Black-Eyed Susan,Butterfly Weed, Copper Canyon Daisy, Cupheas, Coreopsis, Shasta Daisy, Ox-Eye Daisy, Four-Nerve Daisy, Daylily, Echinacea/Coneflower, Eupatoriums (including Gregg’s Mistflower), Frog Fruit, Gayfeather, Goldenrod, Horse Herb, Kniphofia, Lamb’s Ears, Lantana, Plumbago, Ruellias, Salvias, Sedum.
Grasses: Maiden Grass, Bamboo Muhly, Gulf Coast Muhly, Big Muhly, Weeping Muhly, Mexican Feather Grass, Switchgrass, Inland Sea Oats (likes the shade!), Purple Fountain Grass.
FEED AND CULTIVATE
Continue spraying entire landscape with seaweed solution to strengthen them and help them deal with the heat of the summer. Regularity is important; spray at least once a month, but no more than once a week.
Topdress lawn and landscape with compost, if you haven’t done so already. No more than a half-inch over the lawn, and a half-inch to one inch in flower beds and around shrubs and trees. This gives plants the nutrients, organic matter, and microorganisms they need, and helps soil to hold water this summer. Water afterwards to settle in the compost and prevent potential burning in the heat, especially on the lawn.
Apply Lady Bug Terra Tonic or Medina Soil Activator to your lawn, landscape and vegetable garden. These products stimulate microbial activity, which in turn improves the health of your plants. They also improve soil texture and permeability.
PRUNE, SPRAY, MAINTAIN
Watering is the single most important activity in the garden! It is better to water established plants deeper and less often, rather than shallowly and frequently. The exception is newly seeded areas and seedlings, which may need daily watering. Water only as needed; turn off automatic sprinkler systems when we get good rainfall. A landscape’s watering needs vary depending on weather, and hot and/or windy conditions warrant more water. Your finger is your best moisture meter. For most landscape plants and trees, it’s good to feel the soil about 5” down before watering. The best time to water is in the morning: daytime watering wastes too much precious water to evaporation.
Mulch all bare soil areas. Use three inches of mulch wherever possible to get the benefits of weed suppression, moisture retention, and cooler soil. In areas where there are stubborn weeds, get control first by pulling them or spraying Green Go natural weed killer. Then layer at least 10 sheets of newspaper on top of the soil, and wet them down. Be sure to overlap the edges by several inches to prevent those more sneaky weeds from creeping through. (Use black and white newsprint as colored inks can be toxic.) Then cover with mulch. The newspaper stays just long enough to suppress weeds, but decomposes, too. Understand that the most invasive weeds — Bermuda grass, Johnson grass, and Nutgrass– may still require even further pulling and spraying to maintain control.
Check all plants for signs of pest problems. If a pest is causing damage to your plant:
1. Identify the problem/pest correctly. You’re always welcome to bring a sample to our Info Desk and we’ll do our best to give you an accurate ID. Please be sure to put your sample of leaves and/or critters in a closed container. If it’s your lawn that’s having a problem, ask us how to bring a sample to us.
2. Choose the least toxic strategy for addressing the particular pest. Sometimes the best strategy is to do nothing except to nourish the plant. Then, if you feel you have to use a pesticide, choose the least toxic solution for that specific problem. For example, it would be overkill to use anything stronger than soapy water to kill aphids, even if it is an organic product. Sometimes, even plain water is enough. The key to controlling aphids is spraying them off the plant every three to five days. Caterpillars and grasshoppers are great examples of how we can target the pest with a very specific product. Used correctly, Bacillus thuringiensis or B.t. will control caterpillars and harm nothing else. (Remember, though, all caterpillars turn into butterflies and moths, so use Bt as little as possible.) Nolo Bait will control grasshoppers and Mormon crickets exclusively, so it’s very safe to use against those two pests.
3. Be sure affected plants are being watered and fed appropriately. Just like us, plants tend to get “bugs” when they’re not eating right! They may need a little extra food to help them recover from their ordeal.
