Wrap Up for April; To Do's for Zone 7 Garden in May

Here's the wrap up on the Way Back Garden from April (look below for the May activities...:):

View of Kitchen Garden with new corner fences:
Lettuces, spinach, broccoli, and cabbage in foreground;
Early corn under cover in back. Taken 4/28/12

Things have been rolling right along, with lots of progress in all the gardens.  I eagerly tackled the planting checklist for the Kitchen Garden, following the average last frost date for our area (typically quoted as being April 15). Since we had experienced a later than usual frost, I had held off on getting many of the transplants and seeds in the ground (although I still had to make a mad dash 4/22/12 to cover some tender tomatoes and boxwood basil (in the photo, right) when I heard the weather forecast).

I'm happy to report that I got eight tomato transplants in, along with seven pepper plants. In the tomato row, I planted a German Johnson, a Marglobe, a Bush Goliath, two Early Girls, a Lemon Boy, a Bonnie Select, and a Rutgers. In the pepper row, I planted four sweet green bell peppers, a yellow bell, an early bell (which matures to red), and a Cubanelle. I still have seedlings of Better Boys, Jet Stars, Romas, and Juliets under grow lamps, along with Fish Peppers. These will all be ready to go into the garden in a couple of weeks, about the same time I plant the next four rows of corn.

I also got seeds planted for pole beans, bush beans, okra, yellow and zucchini squash, cantaloupes, watermelons, and cucumbers. Following a re-read of Louise Riotte's Carrots Love Tomatoes: The Secrets of Companion Planting (a new copy of which I downloaded to my iPad's Nook ap...:), I've interplanted herbs and flowers, such as basil and marigolds in the tomato row and nasturtiums with the squash...attempting to add some natural pest control. (I already have sage and onions planted with the cabbages and the broccoli.)

The blueberries and the blackberries have already flowered and are fruiting up nicely in the Berry Patch.  We knew if we wanted to have any fruit this year, we'd better get the bird nets up, so we did.  We also are seeing lots of strawberries, even though we probably should have removed all the flowers this year (per usual instructions for a new bed) to let them take root...as this is a new bed from the runners of the old bed (formerly in the space now occupied by the Rose Garden)...but I ask you, who can remove the pretty flowers?  Not I.

And I'm proud to report Mr. T put the last three trees in the Orchard, and got the last order of the English roses planted in the Rose Garden. We have three more hybrid teas on order, and that should do it for planting for this year...except for the perennials and annuals for accents, of course. There is ALWAYS an "except for...," isn't there?

So, here's what's on our 'To Do' List for May*:

Kitchen Garden:

·         May 1^st is the beginning of the recommended planting time for bush lima beans (through July 1^st), okra (through May 31^st), and both sweet and hot peppers (through May 31^st ).  May 15^th marks the date to begin planting sweet potatoes (through June 15^th).  I've got a good start on this one.

·         Continue planting pole beans (through July 1^st), cantaloupe/muskmelons (through June 1^st), sweet corn (through June 1^st), cucumbers (through May 15^th), pumpkins (through June 15^th), summer and winter squash (through May 15^th), tomato plants (through July 15^th), and watermelons (through June 1^st).

·         When setting out tomato plants, set up stakes or cages so you won’t disturb the roots later.  Be sure to remove any suckers to encourage the plant’s energy be used for larger fruit rather than side shoots. (I always attempt to root the suckers; many times I'm lucky and get a freebie tomato!)

·         When planting beans (pole and/or bush) and corn, make successive plantings every two weeks to ensure a longer harvest.

·         Plant basil and dill directly in your garden this month.

Orchard and Berry Patch:

·         Fertilize blueberries, blackberries, and grapes this month.  Read more about it in the NC Cooperative Extension publication Grapes and Berries for the Garden.

Rose Garden (and perennials and annuals):

·         To prevent black spot on roses, continue a weekly fungicidal spray regimen, if you don't use the 6-week systemic variety.   The latest research says NOT to remove black spot infected leaves UNTIL you don't see anymore green...thereby giving your rose bush all the help it needs in continuing to produce chlorophyll.

·         Prepare beds for summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds, and zinnias; a location with 6 or more hours of sun each day is ideal.

• Additionally, on our list is to finish the Rose Garden Patio I wrote about in an earlier post.  We are installing three lattices that will support beautiful red mandevillas.   

Flowers, Shrubs, and Trees in the Front and Back yard gardens:

·         It’s time to plant summer-flowering bulbs, especially caladiums and gladioli. I already have some glads coming up that seem to have made it through the mild winter we had.  We shall see...

Our rhodo in full bloom in April.
Time to fertilize and prune in May.

·         Prune and fertilize Spring-flowering shrubs such as azalea and rhododendron (photo, right) after they have bloomed.

·         Remove broadleaf weeds from all landscape planting areas. If left to grow, they will rob water and nutrients from your plants.

Lawns and Grasses

·         According to the Home Lawn Calendar for May from the Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education at NC State, mow tall fescue lawns at 3 to 3 ½”, and at least once each week.  This article also encourages grasscycling, which is the practice of leaving grass clippings on the lawn.  “Grass clippings decompose quickly and can provide up to 25 percent of the lawn's fertilizer needs.”  We actually use the clippings from the Way Back (around the Orchard and the Berry Patch) to "feed" the compost piles.  Good as gold!

·         Lawns need 1 to 1 ¼ inches of water per week.

Other             

• Take some time to enjoy the butterflies, honeybees, and hummingbirds!  Remember to use low toxicity pesticides to protect these beautiful and beneficial creatures.  And, even though Neem Oil is marketed as an Organic spray, it is still toxic to bees...so don't spray when in the morning when bees are most active.
• Move houseplants out-of-doors when the nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees.  
• After incorporating finished compost into your garden, begin a new compost pile. Or, make this the year that you start composting.  Learn everything you ever wanted to know about the subject from the NC Cooperative Extension publication:  Composting: A Guide to Managing Organic Yard Wastes.

Remember, May is Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Awareness Month.  Before you dash outside to your May gardening activities, put on a hat, sunglasses, and adequate sunscreen protection.

Happy hoeing!


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* This May To Do List is updated and revised from an article I had published on GoGreenTriad.com in 2011.

Let's Get Started

“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle …a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl.  And the anticipation nurtures our dream.”

-Barbara Winkler

 

People who know me know that I hate to wait. Hate. To. Wait.  And, that's what Winter is all about to a gardener.  Waiting for the snow to melt (as Gus is doing, left).  Waiting for warmer weather.  Waiting for to get the garden started. 
 
But it doesn't necessarily have to be, does it?  There's always the planning, the research, the anticipation.  And, that's what we've been doing for the past few weeks around our house.  Our planning has focused on what we will put where in the area of our property we call the Way Back. 
 
 

The "what" we have been researching in garden books and seed catalogs all season.  And, then, on Saturday, we went to our local Tractor Supply for dog food and bird feeder supplies...and there they were.  Seeds!  I'd read that there was a shortage (surely, they jest...:), and that you'd better buy 'em when you see 'em.  OK, I'm good with that.  We got peas, beans (2 kinds), lettuce (4 kinds), carrots, squash (2 kinds), cantalope, watermelon (2 kinds), cucumbers (2 kinds), peppers (3 kinds), tomatoes (4 kinds), and corn...plus several flowers.  Some we will start indoors and transplant, some we will direct sow, some we will do a bit of both.  And, of course, there will be additions in the form of transplants from the Farmer's Market when the time comes.
 
We then set up the Birthing Center, as we are calling the starter area.  Mr. T had already "plasticized" the screen porch for the Winter.  He stapled long sheets of plastic over the screens to enclose the porch and provide a cozy air-lock between the two doggie doors (which must be kept accessible at all times).  Even on the coldest snow days, the temperature on the porch was 5-10 degrees warmer than the deck, and the water in the dogs' bowl never froze.  We moved metal shelves into the protected area and will attach plant lights for heat and light.  I got some Seed Starter mix at TSC, and I plan to recycle those cardboard rolls from toilet tissue and paper towels I've been collecting. More on that in another post.
 

Now, about the "where."  Other than a couple of hastily tilled rows where we could host some tomato and pepper plants purchased from the Farmer's Market in late June '09 (after our move from MO to NC was completed), the Way Back is virgin ground. 
 
Well, "virgin" isn't exactly the right word...but, what I'm trying to convey is that this part of the property has been neglected as far as having a garden or anything other than weeds and tall grasses growing on it.  Duke Power, who maintains a right of way through our Way Back for their transmission lines (left), has seen to it that nothing taller than 15 feet has grown here in years.  And, because of this lack of vegetation, the ground had hardened to something resembling a parking lot.  But, that's changing, even as we speak.

Last Fall, Mr. T took all those moving boxes, knocked them down, flattened them out, and put them in the area where we wanted to expand our vegetable garden for 2010.  Then, he covered them with leaves (hoo-boy, do we have plenty of those!) and grass clippings.  Direct composting...right there out in the open!  And, I'm happy to report:  it worked!  That photo to the right shows the degree of decomposition of the moving box and the leaves, after 6 months. 

 

Amazing! We had read about this process, but had our doubts. Heck...nothing could have been easier, and it took care of lots of boxes and loads of leaves. 

This weekend, which was warm and sunny with highs in the 60's, was the perfect time for the first till-under of the covered space.  Mr. T (left) got about 2/3 of the new garden patch turned with the rear-tine rototiller before both it and he ran out of gas. Of course, the boxes are still decomposing, so we will have some chunks this year...but nothing we can't live with. Also, Mr. T will make another pass or two with the tiller before we plant this area.

We'd recently read some negatives about using a tiller in the garden. The writer said that it was just turning up the bad soil to the surface...and destroying the worm tunnels (and worms, too, I suppose) that help keep the soil aerated.  Well, I have to say that we've seen few worms in this dirt since we started working it.  Hopefully, by amending the soil...and turning it...we will be making the area more hospitable for worms.

 

Not to be outdone...or, to miss just a great day to be out in the garden...I got my hand tiller (it's a combination of a stirrup hoe and a three-tine tiller) out and attacted the area under the former bean trellis...which is really some sticks and branches stuck in the ground and joined by strong string.  Lo and behold, the ground was workable.  So, I got that packet of peas (Ferry Morse Alaska) out and planted my first seeds of the season.  Then, Mr. T double-dug the lower part of the row, and I powdered 1/3 of the resulting wide row with Nantes Coreless Carrot seeds.  Then, since there was still some daylight, I hand-tilled some more of the row and sprinkled it with Black Simpson and Grand Rapids leaf lettuce seeds.  Rushing the season?  Possibly, since we have another cold front on the way on Thursday of this week.  But, still...
 
The garden is started!