Southern Plains May Garden To-Do List

reap your vegetables and cut blossom . After all of the hard study you put into planting your fountain garden , do n’t forget to enjoy the harvest home . By now your garden is likely producing some vegetables such as beans or squash , so do n’t forget to pluck them . Picking them frequently promote the works to raise new blooms and fruit . Do n’t forget to use your herbs , which will promptly put out new growth after harvesting . In add-on to the victual in your garden , May is also a great month to be cutting blossom for indoor enjoyment .

Mulch everything!Don’t underestimate the grandness of mulch in helping your garden survive the heat of summer . Whether you have a vegetable garden , herbaceous plant garden , recurrent garden beds , or just some foundation plantings around your nursing home , mulch them . A 2 - to-4 - in layer of organic mulch will assist moderate soil temperature , keep up wet , and prevent weeds . There are many character of organic mulch uncommitted , include shredded bark , drinking straw , pine needles , leaves , and pecan shells .

Treat fire pismire . The adept overall strategy for fire ants is what Texas A&M University call the “ Two Step ” : Broadcast granular ant lure once or twice a year ( springtime or dusk ) , and target problem mounds with a drench of insecticide dust . May is the calendar month when fire ant mounds are most visible in the landscape , making them easy to place . There are many different baits and treatments available for homeowners . Seethis pagefor more detailed information .

append trellis and other support structure as call for . Bean vines getting longer than expected ? Squashes sprawling over the peppers ? Tomatoes engulfing the petite cages you bought ? Now is a secure time to give your plants support social organisation such as trellis or cages . These do n’t have to be anything fancy . I made my own tomato Cage out of a roll of 4 - foot weld wire fence about 15 year ago and they are still going strong ; they hold up to even the most beastly indeterminate tomato flora .

If you missed out on planting a vegetable garden in March in April , there are still a few things you may engraft now . These heat - bed vegetable do n’t take care a late start , so if you have an empty spot in your garden , go beforehand and occupy it with these :

— Karen Beaty is a horticulturalist at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin , Texas .

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Northern Plains May Garden To-Do List

Southwest May Garden To-Do List

Northeast May Garden To-Do List

Southeast May Garden To-Do List

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